A handful of filmmakers looking for the fabled sea serpent of Loch Ness get a look at another sort of monster in this witty mock documentary. Under commission from producer and screenwriter Zak Penn, notoriously eccentric German filmmaker Werner Herzog travels to Scotland to shoot his latest film, a documentary called "The Enigma of Loch Ness" which examines the myth of the Loch Ness monster and its role in the collective unconsciousness of the Scottish people rather than attempting to capture
and photograph the creature itself. As Herzog is shooting his film, another filmmaker, John Bailey, tags along to shoot a film about Herzog shooting a film using the provisional title "Herzog in Wonderland." While Herzog and Bailey ruffle one another's feathers, Herzog begins to suspect Penn hired his crew more for their ability to generate "real life drama" on camera rather than their skills, especially Kitana Baker, a supposed "sonar engineer" who happens to have been a model for Playboy. As the production falls into chaos, neither Herzog or Bailey are able to complete their projects, and a pair of editors are brought in to combine footage shot by both crews into a coherent whole. Incident at Loch Ness received its North American premier at the 2004 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Watching the movie is an entertaining exercise in forensic viewing, and the insidious thing is, even if it is a con, who is the conner and who is the connee?
While Herzog demonstrates here that he's a perfectly good sport, one can't help think that his time would be far better spent making more films rather than parodying himself in such inconsequential efforts as this.
Since it takes one viewing to find out where the movie is going and what it is up to, multiple viewings are almost a necessity, and the film gets funnier with each pass.
Herzog se revela um convincente astro do gênero "ação/terror" neste filme que, além das muitas risadas, ainda oferece uma reveladora visão dos bastidores de Hollywood.
A truly original work, and a very cheeky one at that filled with end-to-end laughter. It plays off Herzog's own legend as a behind-the-camera wild card.
A surprisingly intelligent and well crafted satire of mockumentaries and documentaries. The inclusion of Herzog as himself is simply genius. Here is a man well educated and practiced in the world of films and documentaries, lampooning himself and his past to great effect. The line of "Differentiating between fact and
truth" is a great one, filled with humor and genuine intrigue. The inclusion of Ricky Jay at the start also hints towards illusions and trickery. I found both the horror and comedy elements to work very well. The playboy sonar operator and the fake R/C monster were just two of the highlights. It was well thought out and feels real enough to pull you in. A rather wonderful surprise of a film for those willing to be taken on a ride.
Before you watch this film, you should be familiar with the documentaries of Werner Herzog, otherwise, a lot of the humour will be totally wasted on you. I thought it was really, really good, thoroughly enjoyable and very funny! On paper its really shouldn't have worked, a mockumentary of a documentary, brilliant!
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