It was an awesome movie

Stroszek.

I'm not sure how to spell it but wow.

The film is 'famous' for its closing scene of a dancing chicken. The dancing chicken is worth the price of admission, tis true.

But.

Wow. Gosh. Golly. Jeepers.

There is an amazing scene in which a doctor takes the main character to the preemie department in a hospital. He picks up a brawling, naked, red infant that actually looks like a bona fide premature infant. Gosh, how was Herzog allowed to film such a new human being, screaming at life?! I bet it was a new baby but not an actual preemie. The doctor is trying to encourage the leading man and he picks up the crying baby by its hands, using only his two forefingers. The baby grasps firmly on the doctor's forefingers, screaming nonstop. "Look," says the doctor, "This baby is fighting for its life. Look how it hangs on. You can hang on too." Watching that little baby, screaming so hard, turning itself so red, I had a faint perception that I was watching something other than a human, that I was watching "A BEING" adrift in this cosmos. I had a sense that we are all odd creatures like the ones in the bar scene of Star Wars or like the dancing chicken, perhaps. We are all vulnerable, tender and hanging on.

I cried. Tears of joy. How fine to be a creature that can create and/or behold the razzle, dazzle greatness of life. The art of the scene with the premature baby was a fine as art ever gets.

The little baby reminded me of visiting a college boyfriend who had had an emergency appendectomy. He was bored in the hospital and I said "Let's go look at the babies." We did. At first Bob said "We can't do that, that's just for the people who have babies." I said, "Let's go and find out" and to out delight, we were allowed to look at the babies. You might think the new babies are the main show but, speaking for myself, I also got deep pleasure watching the new relatives adoring the new babies. The whole show was awesome.

I was unsure about Herzog before today but on my way out, I bought a ticket to see Fitzcarraldo next.

I am happy once more.