Even Dwarfs Started Small – Available at Amazon.com
Written and Directed by Werner Herzog
Well, Im back again with my second entry in the Film Crypt Series. I found another film that most of you have probably never heard off and thought it was worthy of bringing to your attention. This film is Even Dwarfs Started Small, or Auch Zwerge Haben Klein Angefangen, is the second film in history to feature an all dwarf cast. The first was 1938s The Terror In Tiny Town which I very much want to see and very well may be a future installment in this series.
Werner Herzog is easily one of the more prolific filmmakers out there today although none of his films have ever garnered huge box office success. His biggest money maker in recent years was Rescue Dawn (2006) starring Christian Bale, which made almost five and a half million in theaters. Previous to that was Invisible (2001) an amazing film starring Tim Roth that went mostly unseen and only grossed $80 grand. Herzog has made as many documentaries as he has fictional films, his biggest success as of late in that realm being the much acclaimed Grizzly Man which earned $3 million.
So by Hollywood standards Herzog is by no means a successful filmmaker. But lucky that has never really been his ultimate goal. In the 41-plus years hes been a filmmaker hes made 23 feature-length films and documentaries and countless short films and stuff for television and all this despite big box office return. His upcoming project, which might get him some notice, is Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call In New Orleans which will star Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk and Xzibit. But its not a sequel to the original Bad Lieutenant, or a remake or a reimagining or however you might want to label it. In fact Herzog has never even seen the original.
But Im rambling now. Im not here to talk to you about what hes doing now. Im here to share with you a strange and bizarre film from his past. Dwarfs is Herzogs second feature film and was released in 1970.
The story of Dwarfs revolves around a band of inmates at a mental hospital that are sick of the way they are being treated and revolt against the warden.
The film opens with one inmate, Hombré, being interrogated by police about what has happened, but he refuses to divulge any information. Regardless we cut back to the beginning where we are introduced to all the tiny inmates and the insanity begins.
The mutinous inmates.
Dont look for much in the way of plot in this film. Herzog describes the film as a really bad nightmare and thats about as accurate as you could get. It really is just about these crazy inmates running around the grounds of the asylum reeking havoc. They burn down the wardens favorite tree, they tease the blind inmates, they steal a car and set it driving about on its own, they have a food fight, look at the wardens stash of porno mags and thats just some of it. The film starts out strange and just devolves into utter chaos and madness.
Even if the film where to be cast with average sized people it would still be a very crazy film, but in choosing to cast all dwarfs Herzog is adding another layer to the film. Most of us arent used to seeing this many little people all at once so visually its a little overwhelming at first. He uses their size and contrasts this with their normal sized surroundings to throw the characters and the viewer off. They often have to use books to reach a door knob. Or in one case a man is trying to jump into a bed with a girl, but he just cant make it happen. This scene in particular is both uncomfortable and funny which are exactly the feelings Herzog is going for both in this scene and the rest of the film. You will laugh and you will feel guilty for laughing then at times you will feel awkward and uncomfortable.
The bed is too big for Hombre.
While there is no conventional plot to hold your attention there are many wonderful moments that are either fascinating or mind boggling or sometimes both. One inmate has a cigar box that she carries with her at all times. At one point she finally opens it up to share the contents. It is her collection of dead bugs, but they have all been dressed up for a wedding. She has a bride and a groom and a best man and everything. She is very proud of her collection.
The bug bride
The really interesting aspect to this film is the character Hombré. All through the film he does very little to participate in the deviant antics. He mostly stands off to the side, observing and laughing is devious little laugh. Yet in the opening scene he refuses to rat out his friends to get them in trouble. This is a very subtle part of this very unsubtle film and it says a lot about his character.
Hombre sits atop a motorcycle.
This is indeed a disturbing film and is by no mean for everyone. There is some animal cruelty in film which most will find very upsetting. Its pale in comparison to that scene in El Topo or Cannibal Holocaust (two films each worthy of their own Film Crypt entry), but its never enjoyable to see this kind of thing. Still this film is a very fascinating look at madness and will most certainly make you take a look at things from a different perspective.
To top it all off the DVD has commentary by Werner Herzog and Crispin Glover who sites this film has a huge inspiration for his controversial What Is It? This is a superb commentary and Herzogs insight into the film and why he did what he did is very enlightening.
Herzog doesnt just make films for you to sit back and enjoy. He makes films that force you to think about what youre seeing and form your own analytical conclusions. Not everyone wants this in a film. Most people want to be able to sit back with their 50 oz. soda and their tub of butter drenched popcorn and enjoy the mindless drivel that most Hollywood films spew at them. So if you want something a little more interesting than what you can get at your local megaplex I highly recommend Even Dwarfs Started Small.
