Toronto 2011 Review: Werner Herzog's Into The Abyss, A Story of Life, A Story of Death
The Master strikes again crafting here yet another profoundly fantastic documentary that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
rating: 5
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Werner Herzog is an incredibly prolific filmmaker. This man makes inspiring documentaries faster than I cook meals (seriously, an hour and a half to cook a Spanish Omelette. I only wish I were joking). Into The Abyss: A Story Of Life, A Story Of Death, is yet another in a long line of compelling films about less than ordinary subjects, given what I like to refer to as The Herzog Flare. Herzog joked before the film started that technically Into The Abyss could have been the title of any of his documentaries, and hes certainly right there. His documentaries have a way of transcending the surface of the issue and always come out as rather profound, something many filmmakers wish they were capable of. Now, I must admit, when it comes to seeing Herzog documentaries in special screenings, it seems I am cursed, I always end up arriving a little later than I probably should and end up sitting at the very front, with the theatre packed out. This was a nuisance in Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, and it had occurred to me again for Into The Abyss but anyway, my grumbling was swiftly obliterated by the amazing presence of one Mr Werner Herzog ambling onto the stage. I had no idea he was going to be there. I, along with many of the patrons was flung out of my seat by instinct and greeted the Bavarian master with a long standing ovation. Into The Abyss originally started as part of Herzogs television miniseries of documentaries where he interviews death row inmates and opens a discussion about the moral ethics of Capital Punishment. Herzog stated before the film that he is entirely against taking another life under any circumstances. He admitted that he has no salient argument, only a story, and he recounted the well trodden history of the Nazis genocide in brief. It is arguable that there is a marked difference between putting to death a convicted killer and mass genocide, but the debate, at least from my perspective is less of We shouldnt kill each other, but more crucially What gives us the right to decide whether another person lives or dies? Into The Abyss focuses on Michael Perry and Jason Burkett, two youths who killed three people in cold blooded murder, all so they could gain possession of a red camaro that they ended up only keeping for less than 72 hours. The pair were tried separately, Michael Perry was given the death penalty and Jason Burkett got off with a life sentence, thanks largely to do with the testimony provided in court by Burketts incarcerated father, which he recounts in agonising detail in the film.