WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM

Born in 1942 in a small Bavarian village, Werner Herzog began his film career in 1962 with his first of 14 documentaries, the last made in 1984. His first feature, “Signs of Life,” made in 1967 created a following among festival goers, a following that expanded worldwide with the acclaim of “Aguirre, The Wrath of God” in 1972. This established Herzog's leadership in W. German cinema, maintained by such films as “Stroszek,” “Nosferatu” and “Fitzcarraldo” among his 13 completed features. WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM reflects Herzog's recurring clash-of-culture themes, in this case the struggle of 2 aboriginal tribes to save their sacred land from the ravaging jaws of a uranium mining company's bulldozers in Australia. The Aborigines believe the land “where the green ants dream” has been holy for 40,000 years; to destroy it is to destroy the tribe's ancestral links, their members' very bodies and souls. They block the bulldozers, resolutely sitting in front of them like human boulders on the land. The mining company takes them to court, where tribal leaders present an eloquent case for the survival of their dwindling numbers. But they are up against big business in the name of “progress” and English law. Haunting images and the eerie sound of the Didgeridoo linger in the mind long after Herzog's moving, “Koyaanisqatsi”-like message sinks in.