The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Page #2

Synopsis: Herzog's film is based upon the true and mysterious story of Kaspar Hauser, a young man who suddenly appeared in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to talk or walk, and bearing a strange note; he later explained that he had been held captive in a dungeon of some sort for his entire life that he could remember, and only recently was he released, for reasons unknown. His benefactor attempts to integrate him into society, with intriguing results.
Director(s): Werner Herzog
Production: New Yorker Films
  5 wins & 3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.9
Rotten Tomatoes:
95%
NOT RATED
Year:
1974
110 min
603 Views


Look... it's full, it's not empty.

That cup there is empty.

There's nothing in it.

Empty.

It'll take time,

getting him used to such things.

Don't cry, don't cry.

Oh my, how my gut is painin' me!

Finger, thumb, arm...

This is your hand, this is your arm.

Arm...nose...mouth...

Look, this is your ear.

Look, I've even got a mirror!

This here is your ear.

My gut is killing me.

Finger...shoulder...

...arm.

No, that's your hand.

This is your arm.

Hand, hand!

This is your arm.

Arm, arm, arm...

Hand.

Hey, what kind of

place is this here, anyway?

Damn your eyes, ain't

there nothin' in this place to drink?

Stand up, Kaspar, stand up!

You don't have to be

ashamed, we're alone here.

Only the dear Lord

is watching, don't be afraid.

Mother, my skin is coming off!

Don't worry about it.

He hasn't had a bath in years.

Lap, lap, lap, I like this milk,

Lap, lap, lap as smooth as silk.

Good morning, little cat so white.

May I sit down by your side?

Good morning, little cat so white,

May I sit down by your side?

Be nice to me little girl so fair,

Then you may sit down right there.

Lap, lap, lap I like this milk,

Lap, lap, lap as smooth as silk.

Agnes, that rhyme is too long for him.

All he knows are separate words.

I just taught him separate words...

...and he can't

understand your rhyme yet.

It's no use, he doesn't even

respond to a feigned thrust.

Doesn't respond to feigned thrust.

I don't think

he's a hard boiled swindler.

He's got absolutely

no conception of danger!

No conception of danger.

It didn't even scare him.

How about trial by fire?

- Is that for the record?

- Yes.

He's not afraid of the flame.

Charmed to meet you!

Charmed, I'm sure!

Look at him gapin'!

He's never seen that before.

Look, look...look here!

Pick up the baby,

Kaspar, go ahead.

Mother, I am so far away

from everything.

I eat with my handses...

With your hands!

With my handses.

With your hands!

Have you heard anything?

A number of people

have testified that the foundling...

...ran away from a group

of English circus equestrians.

- They were in the Oberpfalz area.

- What was that?

Other citizens say he is a

member of the Baden dynasty...

...who was to be

eliminated as most likely heir.

The Baden dynasty, however...

...is beyond all reproach.

Besides, there are better ways

of getting rid of unwanted heirs...

I don't believe the story

in any case. Just look at him...

...with his coarse, rustic features!

There's nothing refined

about him at all.

She can't walk on two feet!

After all, he's beginning to be a

burden on the community coffers.

He's costing us a pretty penny.

Perhaps he should begin contributing

to his own upkeep somehow.

One could turn the public

interest in him to good use.

Come right on up,

ladies and gentlemen!

Parents keep an eye on their children!

Now before we present

the Four Riddles of the Spheres...

...we have for you

an entertaining intermezzo.

This wild bear, Kublai Khan,

from farthest central Asia...

...came to us somewhere

in Mongolia, where the Huns live.

With one sweep of his

mighty paw he can kill a bull!

But here in the

temperate zones, dear children...

...he is as tame and

cuddly as a little cat.

Here our Indian

fire-eater, our fakir...

...a living flame,

a veritable mountain of fire!

He has succeeded, ladies and

gentlemen, by will power alone...

...in rejecting every

trace of a burn or scorch!

Show us your skin,

soft as a baby's, not a blemish.

What's this, you scoundrel?

And now...

...ladies and gentlemen...

...for the very first time

in the history of the world.

Brought together for you

and only for the first time:

The Four Riddles of the Spheres!

Minors please keep their distance.

The gravity of my presentation

permits of no childish pranks.

And now for the first Riddle:

The Little King!

Monarch of the Golden Land

of Punt of song and legend.

The last link of an

ancient line of giants!

Each king of this line

was tinier than the last.

Here you see that the last

living member of the royal family.

Another few centuries, and the

Kings of Punt will be invisible.

The very last king

will be no bigger than a flea!

Yes, there he sits, our Little King...

...cowering like an outcast

in the corner of his throne.

And as the kings have grown

tinier, so have their kingdoms.

His kingdom is no larger

than the spot he is sitting on...

...for neither can he leave his

kingdom without outside help...

...nor can he climb it. Our

next Riddle, ladies and gentlemen...

Our next Riddle of Science -

the Young Mozart!

One day long ago

he fell into a deep trance...

...and asked for nothing

more but the music of Mozart.

At a tender age he already

knew all the scores by heart.

Now, still in the trance,

he looks for dark holes in the earth...

...because they tried to teach

him to read and write at school.

Since that day he has

lost the power of speech.

He was not able

to read or write he says...

...because the whiteness

of the paper blinded him.

Day in, day out, he peers

into dark, deep holes in the earth...

...looking for entrances to caves

and underground waterways.

As you see, there is no way to

gain the poor fellow's attention...

His mind is completely

engrossed in zones of twilight.

Our next Riddle, a living

specimen of anthropology...

...is Hombrecito.

An untamed Indian from

the sunny shores of New Spain.

This wildman is the sole

remaining member in all of Europe...

...of the renowned and

legendary Kaffir and Indian Show.

He plays his wooden flute

night and day, because he believes...

...that if he stops,

all the people in town will die.

He wears three separate jackets

to keep from catching cold...

...and to protect himself from

the evil breath of mankind.

Hombrecito is a jolly good

fellow, and quite tame.

He speaks hardly a word of

any tongue - except Indian of course.

And now to the final

and greatest Riddle of all!

Kaspar, the Foundling!

He has agreed, with the express

permission of the authorities...

...to appear in person here

every afternoon, and thus..

...to ease the community's

financial burden.

Thank you, Kaspar!

Kaspar Hauser was found in

the Town Square of this fine city...

...just as you see him

standing before you today.

In his right hand,

a prayer-book...

...and his left,

the Anonymous Letter.

Abandoned to his

fate in a strange town...

...the boy could neither speak nor walk.

He had never seen a

living being in his life before!

His origin remains in darkness

to this day, ladies and gentlemen.

Is he a prince? Or possibly

the legitimate son of Napoleon?

His is and will remain the

Riddle of the European Continent!

Stop, Hombrecito!

Kaspar, come back! Are you mad?

I will get you!

Stop in the name of the Law!

There he is!

Come down from there!

Stop shaking that branch!

If that branch breaks, I'll...!

Come down here!

Keep searching for Kasper.

The beehive! Ah, it's locked.

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Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog (German: [ˈvɛɐ̯nɐ ˈhɛɐ̯tsoːk]; born 5 September 1942) is a German screenwriter, film director, author, actor, and opera director. Herzog is a figure of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Schröter, and Wim Wenders. Herzog's films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unique talents in obscure fields, or individuals who are in conflict with nature.French filmmaker François Truffaut once called Herzog "the most important film director alive." American film critic Roger Ebert said that Herzog "has never created a single film that is compromised, shameful, made for pragmatic reasons, or uninteresting. Even his failures are spectacular." He was named one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2009. more…

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