Ballad of a Righteous Merchant 2020
Distributed by The Video Project, 145 - 9th St., Suite 102, San Francisco, CA 94103; 800-475-2638
Produced by Redlog Pictures
Directed by Herbert Golder
Streaming, 62 mins
College
Biography; Documentaries; Filmmaking
Date Entered: 08/17/2020
Reviewed by Jodi Hoover, Digital Resources Manager, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MDAs a filmmaker Werner Herzog has achieved almost mythical status. How then do you make that myth accessible? Long time Herzog collaborator Herbert Golder attempts to show us the man behind the curtain in his debut documentary film, Ballad of a Righteous Merchant. The film follows Herzog through the production of the 2009 feature film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done.
It is always fascinating to see an artist at work and in this respect, Ballad delivers. There are very intimate scenes showing how involved Herzog is as a director. From choreographing the movements of Willem Dafoe, Michael Shannon and Chloe Sevigny to carefully rolling a bottle down an incline in exactly the right way, there is truly a sense of collaboration and intensity that is beautiful to watch. One of the film’s strongest scenes shows Herzog fully engaged with conducting a crowd to get the specifically timed reaction sounds he needs. It is a charming moment, perfectly captured.
Unfortunately, these moments cannot carry the whole film. Like Herzog, Golder uses narration to transition between scenes. In Ballad, the narration is heavy-handed and so reminiscent of Herzog’s style it ends up being a distraction rather than adding to the film. The audio quality is also a let-down. In one scene Herzog and crew are out scouting locations and the audio is so muffled that it is impossible to understand the conversation. Sadly, this ends up being the case with most of the scenes depicting Herzog at work and adds another layer of frustration for the viewer. There are no other additional to-camera interviews so overall result is a bit of a let-down and lacks focus or insight.
This film is probably not a fit for most collections as it is too specific for general audiences. However, for the footage of Herzog directing, it might be a worthwhile addition for collections with a focus on filmmaking, film history, and documentary films. This film is Recommended with Reservations.
Awards:
Milan International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema, Best Director of a Feature Documentary; Best Feature Documentary; London International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema, Best Story; Depth of Field International Film Festival, Award of Excellence; DaVinci International Film Festival, Viruvian Award; Leo Award; Amsterdam Film Festival, Van Gogh Award, Grand Jury Prize; Mexico International Film Festival, Best Feature Documentary; Docs Without Borders Film Festival, Award for Excellence in Directing; International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra, International Documentary Feature Award; Madrid International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema, Best Director of a Feature Documentary; Vienna Independent Film Festival, Best Feature Documentary; Prague Independent Film Festival, Best Documentary; DOC LA, Best Documentary Profile Award; Nottingham International Film Festival, Best Documentary; Canada Independent Film Festival; North Europe International Film Festival, Best Cinematography in a Documentary; South Europe International Film Festival, Best Story; West Europe International Film Festival, Best Director of a Feature Documentary; Gulf of Naples Independent Film Festival, Best Directing; Solaris Film Festival, Best Documentary; East Europe International Film Festival, Best Feature Documentary and Best of the Festival