When Herzog cycles through scenes of scuba divers under the ice and astronauts sleeping in zero gravity, he conveys a strong sense of what 'alien' really means.
The Wild Blue Yonder: A Science Fiction Fantasy (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:23
Rotten:11
Average Rating:6.4/10
Runtime: 81 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Theatrical Release:15-06-2007
Synopsis: The film follows a hypothetical proposition: a group of astronauts are circling the earth in a spacecraft, but they cannot return, as our planet has become uninhabitable. The cause of this remains... The film follows a hypothetical proposition: a group of astronauts are circling the earth in a spacecraft, but they cannot return, as our planet has become uninhabitable. The cause of this remains open - all-out war, outbreak of a new disease beyond control, radiation after the complete disappearance of the ozone layer, or whatever. The crew of the spacecraft has to find a more hospitable place out there in space, and releases a probe from their cargo bay, Galileo. But Galileo - after sending back very disquieting data - has to be sent on a suicide mission... Without our knowledge we have had visitors from outer space for decades. They have come from a planet submerged in water, The Wild Blue Yonder, and their attempts to create a new community on earth have so far not met with great success. This film is narrated on-screen by one of the visitors, Brad Dourif. In words and lyrical images, he shows how our attempts to find a new home somewhere in space is doomed to failure. He explains how in the past when Earth was threatened with extinction, a manned space probe was sent to look for an alternative home in outer space. It did not succeed. Herzog’s space fantasy uses extraordinary music and images to create an imaginary scenario that has an impassioned sub-text telling us to protect our most precious and irreplaceable possession – our planet. -- © Official Site [More]
Reviews for The Wild Blue Yonder: A Science Fiction Fantasy
For devotees of lunatic Herzog adventure a la Fitzcarraldo, it's only a serviceable time-killer 'til the arrival of Rescue Dawn, the director's Americanization of his 1997 documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly.
The Wild Blue Yonder wavers between (sometimes) brilliant and (mostly) boring.
A meandering, amusing trifle, Werner Herzog's latest film is as cheekily flaky as his recent Grizzly Man was sharply down-to-earth.
An artful mixture of carefully culled and originally produced material, Werner Herzog's a science fiction fantasy purports to tell the story of an alien species.
Not a major Herzog work or one that will draw a large audience, but a must-see for those who suspect (as I do) that he's one of the greatest talents now working in this medium.
Thirty-four years after Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Werner Herzog remains enthralled by the marvelous, mysterious power of nature.
Though occasionally striking, the footage doesn't pack the evocative punch Herzog intends, and segments that should be lyrical mind trips only result in overstretched longueurs.
... as gorgeous and conceptually curious a misfire as you'll ever see.
A so-called 'science-fiction fantasy' about an epic trip to our planet, another epic journey away from it, and Herzog's musings on the implacable dominance of nature.
A hypnotic fictional fusion of archival NASA footage and new material.
Without a clear purpose in mind other than telling a story that is mildly interesting if rather weird, The wild blue yonder never really takes off.
The director calls the film a 'science-fiction fantasy,' but it's really a languid meditation on human impermanence.
Seems primarily designed to amuse and delight auds. However, it also reasserts, in a lowkey way, one of Herzog's favorite themes: The impersonal, irreducible otherness of nature, seen here as crushingly vast and beyond comprehension.
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