By the end of Walking to Werner, we are no worse off but we are not much better either.
Walking to Werner (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 13
Fresh: 5
Rotten:8
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Theatrical Release:2006
Synopsis: Linas Phillips proves his devotion to legendary director Werner Herzog with this documentary about making films and making choices. Phillips embarks on an epic quest as he walks from Seattle,... Linas Phillips proves his devotion to legendary director Werner Herzog with this documentary about making films and making choices. Phillips embarks on an epic quest as he walks from Seattle, Washington, to Los Angeles, California, for a chance to meet with his beloved hero. [More]
Director: Linas Phillips
Director: Linas Phillips
Producer: Dayna Hanson
Composer: Justin Hubbard
Reviews for Walking to Werner
[Subject] Phillips is a lot better at walking than talking, and his musings seem especially insipid intercut with audio clips of Herzog's sage observations.
The real interest in the film is not the journey or even Linas Phillips, but the people he meets on the way.
Even the most ardent Herzog admirer may want to hail this fledgling documentarian a cab and call it a day.
Despite the callow, self-absorbed aspects of Phillips' undertaking, there's something endearing about his determination to recreate -- and then some -- a 30-year-old gesture that looked nutty then and only looks nuttier now.
It's an impressive odyssey, but the film -- which alternates between Phillips' ceaseless ramblings and interviews with the predictably eccentric folks he meets on the road -- plays like a prolonged death march.
Phillips's trip begins as an attention-grabbing show of devotion but transforms into a many-sided experiment in empathy.
The high-strung antics of Linas Phillips, who films his hike from Seattle to Los Angeles to meet Werner Herzog, may strike some as a noble spiritual undertaking, but others will find it an exercise in indulgent self-absorption.
The documentary Walking to Werner is a deeply self-reflexive work, perpetually at risk of disappearing into its own iris.
Phillips's singular determination is not unlike that of the artist he aspires to meet.
Less successful than his Ross McElwee–isms are the first-person diary entries, which swerve from gonzo to narcissistic in a blink -- especially in the cringeworthy moments when Phillips seems convinced he’s one of Herzog’s angry visionaries ŕ la Aguirre.
It's the closest thing to a cinematic religious experience I can think of -- all combined with Phillips' terrific sense of visual style, humor and willingness to risk life for art.
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