Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) User Reviews

Strong Film From Herzog

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 3 February 2016]

The geologist Lance Hackett is employed by an Australian mining company to map the subsoil of a desert area covered with ant hills prior to a possible uranium extraction. His work is impeded by some aborigines who explain that this is the place where the green ants dream.

Werner Herzog makes great films, and he is quite prolific in what he does. His career sees to be divided between unusual drama and documentaries of different cultures. This film, perhaps more than any other of his work, really blends the two. While not a documentary, it really tries to celebrate aborigine culture.

Of all the films based in Australia, this is one of the better ones. It may not be reality, but it is in some ways better than reality. Herzog creates a world that is completely believable.

Another Herzog masterpiece

[bunsenflunsen · 8/10 · 31 May 2006]

Some idiot claims that this movie is horrible but I would argue that this he/she is mistaken. None of the dialog is improvised though the performances are raw which the previous reviewer might be confusing with improvisation. Most fans of Herzog are also aware that Herzog's dialog is highly stylized and often surreal which may, to close minded people, be misconstrued as trite or childish. Perhaps it is something one has to get used to or maybe Herzog films are best left to those who are willing to view something out of the ordinary. Of course, not everyone will like everything, but opinions that are expressed should only come from people who are informed as an uninformed opinion is like showing a dog a card trick.

maybe not one of Herzog's best, but still a vital film with grand visuals and some good acting

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 29 August 2008]

Where the Green Ants Dream- at the least featuring one of Werner Herzog's best titled films as it's one of those amazing visuals one gets out of the strangest of the director's work- is placed in a somewhat minor cannon of the German maverick's work, and maybe rightfully so. It's about a controversial topic, that of the rights of the Aborigines and the Australian's seeming right via original British Imperial rule, and it features practically all non-professional actors and some shaky transitions between its sturdy plot and non-sequiters and quintessential Herzogian landscapes. If I were recommending Herzog films to a friend this wouldn't be at the top of the crop (unless of course one is fervently into Australian issue movies or love that one song from the 80s "Beds are Burning"). But it's by no means an over-ambitious quagmire like Heart of Glass, and at worst it's occasionally dull or, and I hate to say this for Herzog, too eccentric for its own good.

It's not to say some of Herzog's bits of character eccentricities aren't out of place. There's featured here amid the story of an aboriginal tribe peacefully protesting and standing their ground against construction on a sacred land of the title name various strange bits of business. My favorite was that mid-section involving the Aborigines asking for a plane, assumed on the part of the construction group as part of the negotiations, and features in one of the oddest parts of the movie the one black pilot from the Aussie air force who keeps singing "My baby does the hanky-panky" to himself. And there's some cool visuals of stock tornado footage and those barren wastelands and perplexing dunes and pyramid-hills in the desert plains that provide the director some choice locations to film. It's hard not to see for the Herzog fan some allotment of poetry.

But there are some problems that I couldn't quite ignore. Despite the acting force of Bruce Spence, who displays far more here as a gifted actor (contrary to what another IMDb reviewer said) and as more than just the kooky flier in the Mad Max movies, the acting is in general fairly weak and at best standard and too off-kilter. It's fairly distracting when Herzog can't quite corral his actors as well as with his technical skills; this also despite some real 'presence' with the two aboriginal chiefs. And certain big scenes, like the courtroom, aren't as effective as might have been intended and come off as dry and too naturalistic and stuffy.

And yet, even with these qualms, it's got some real courage and conviction with its message, which is that aside from the typical "respect the native culture" beat is that people need to learn to live together and not have cultures lost and squandered in the face of bigotry and imperialistic attitudes that should have been squashed decades ago. It's a very good, if not great, examination of a meeting of two societies and an identification of "the other" by a filmmaker willing to take it on. 7.5/10

where the green ants dream, a film that begs the question, where do we dream

[lblarson1 · 6 January 2008]

I really liked this movie. I liked the respect that was offered and given by both the native demonstrators and the geologist. This film prompted thought, thought about what is valued when death approaches, whether that is seen as death of an individual or a people. The mining company stands on the foundation of its legal right to proceed with what the contemporary civilization values, and some scoff the values of the natives. But if we listen we hear that is something we all must address when asking of ourselves what is sacred and will we protect and defend that in the face of our own extinction, because clearly the law is not designed to protect the sacred, but to settle a dispute. We are an amalgam of the characters, the native voice that seeks self perpetuation of tribe and story, the company voice that works for progress and acquisition of wealth, the mediator and thinker voice that comes through the geologist, and the law which strives of order in chaos. These tensions of the human condition, are made so vivid in the land and skies of the Australian outback.

Slightly interesting but completely unnecessary

[Rodrigo_Amaro · 6/10 · 11 June 2013]

At first, "Where The Green Ants Dream" sounds like something really interesting and very intriguing. While in there, the ultimate worthy value is of its entertainment purpose, since the artistic merits of it are quite simplistic. It is what it can be and no more than that. It's a good film, and can only be that. Great doesn't fit such unnecessary project empty of ideas.

The movie deals with a strange impasse between a mineral company which wants to explore an aborigine land, and the proclaimers of such land, the native who claim the company will destroy their land and will disturb the sleep and dreams of some green ants who inhabit there, and those ants contain to power to destroy the whole world, if they were to be destroyed. Trying to settle down the issue is a company man (Bruce Spence) who each day goes by seems more inclined in protecting the aborigine and their traditions. Money and other offers are made to them but they refuse all of them...until the day they see an airplane and they want it. A trade seems to be made. Only seems cause the natives don't sign any paper and still refuse the exploration of the land.

That kind of subject was covered in plenty of films, and better ones. Like "Lemon Tree" where a simple tree stands on the way between the Israel/Palestine conflicts. And real life has thousands of stories like this happening, about land expropriation in exchange of profit. The more "Where the Green Ants Dream" unfolds the more it becomes unnatural, forced and devoided of any kind of necessity to exist. Why must we see this? Well, what drags most viewers to this is the name of Werner Herzog behind the credits, an important director, indeed, but very little of his greatness is present in this project. The story goes up and down, our interest goes on and off from time to time mainly because of its characters, who should be sympathetic as they are in other movies, instead they're quite annoying, simple-minded, I couldn't care about anyone in here. I couldn't be on the company side and neither on the natives side. The latter was more of a case that I felt they weren't being real, they were inventing that ants story. It baffles me why the story haven't turned into more obscure and dangerous results. No, instead we have the plane being hijacked by a native who keeps singing "My baby does the hanky panky".

Herzog wasn't tasteless with this film, he just didn't make this a more vital and relevant piece to the audience. 6/10

Good

[Cosmoeticadotcom · 7/10 · 24 September 2008]

There are three distinct styles of German director Werner Herzog's films. There are his great, deep, and memorable fictive films- such as Aguirre: The Wrath Of God, The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser, and Fitzcarraldo, there are his smaller evocative documentary-like films- such as Fata Morgana, Little Dieter Needs To Fly, and Grizzly Man, and then there are his unclassifiable films- such as Even Dwarfs Started Small, Heart Of Glass, and 1984's Where The Green Ants Dream (Wo Die Grünen Ameisen Traümen). Whereas Even Dwarfs Started Small is an enigmatic study on Fascism that is beyond evaluation on a normal scale, and Heart Of Glass was filmed with its actors hypnotized, Where The Green Ants Dream is an odd concoction that mixes all three of Herzog's styles, along with the excellent cinematography of Jorg Schmidt-Reitwein, in its 95 minute running time.

Where The Green Ants Dream is not Herzog at his greatest, but it is an interesting and good little film that rises above the contemporary condescending approach to Natives, and compels anyone who starts watching it to finish watching it. Just compare it to the ongoing American obsessions with Noble Savage Native Americans and Mystical Negroes, and the difference is clear. In the commentary, Herzog even laments that this film is too preachy at times, in scenes with both the Elders and the small minded Arnold, and how his own personal disagreement with the Green parties around the world are due to their lack of empathy for humans, while praising nature at all costs. It is especially noteworthy to compare this film to the work of Native American director Chris Eyre, who made Smoke Signals and Skins, for one can see numerous areas where the younger director could learn much from a Master like Herzog, who, even when not in top form, can create compelling art that lasts, even if in ways as odd as his subject matter.

Dreaming of a white Aussie

[DukeEman · 6/10 · 3 February 2003]

Interesting account on the fight for land rights by the Aboriginals who are up against a mining company that do the dirty on them by disturbing the land where the green ants dream! The message comes across through this sometimes messy film.

How would you like it if Someone Tore Down Your Church?

[Preston-10 · 10/10 · 7 October 2003]

I would classify this movie as being Herzog's most mainstream (which I know isn't saying that much), but still, for a movie that takes place in possibly the most minimalist setting (a stretch of land on the Australian outback littered with the remains of drilling for minerals) I found it absolutely engrossing. This is the movie: A group of aborigines refuse to budge from a small strip of land when a mining company wants to occupy it for drilling purposes; their reason: `This is the land where the green ants dream'. When one of the aborigines is asked why they will not budge even after offered a lucrative settlement, he responds, `How would you like it if someone drove a bulldozer over your church.' Immediately I knew this movie would work. It is a very good film, possibly one of the most finely put together movies I can think of. Rather than being an all and out movie that puts down imperialism, civilization, and national need to exploit resources.it raises some interesting questions about ownership and the present destruction of ancient civilizations. My one fault with the movie is that you know when Herzog is setting things up for an awe-inspired moment, and it does get a little dry toward the end, but still a grand achievement.

This is the Ant

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 21 September 2023]

"Wo die grünen Ameisen Träumen" or "Where the Green Ants Dream" is a co-production between West Germany and Australia from 1984 (Great year!), so this film will have its 40th anniversary next year and as I am a pretty big fan of filmmaker Werner Herzog and this was shown on the big screen again on a one-time occasion, I had to take it and give it a go. Herzog is writer and director here is Bob Ellis, the man who is no longer with us and probably was part of this project because of his Australian background. You also see him in front of the camera on one occasion and apparently this was the only time he and Herzog collaborated. Ellis has also acted on other occasions and of course worked as a screen writer too. He even directed here and there. The outcome is really as solid as it gets, so it surprised me a bit that he and Herzog did not reunite. Anyway, Herzog himself is also seen on the screen here in a very brief cameo. I must admit I did not even recognize him, so it was extremely short. He made this film during the mid-80s when his collaboration with Kinski was slowly coming to an end. Only one more movie followed, but Herzog was still travelling the world and shooting films like this one where the exotic component and the lifestyle of the natives played a major role. This film here that runs for pretty much exactly 100 minutes was also a somewhat solid success with awards bodies. It was nominated at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and took home two awards at the German Film Awards, namely the cinematography trophy for Herzog's longtime cinematographer Schmidt-Reitwein (who died just a month ago, rest in peace) as well as the big prize of the night, the category for Best Picture and that is not a given as Herzog has a fairly tumultuous history with how his movies were perceived in Germany. No surprise he has lived in America for decades and is seen as a bit of an icon there while. He is just not politically correct enough for soft German mainstream warriors, no matter if we are talking about the film industry or Germany in general. I adore the man. Not gonna lie. But yeah, the category at the German Film Awards where he came short back then was for the film's writing. There Herzog was also the only nominee and no mention of Ellis, which is a bit telling.

As for the cast, you will find almost exclusively Australian actors in here. Makes total sense given the story. Don't worry if none of the faces feel familiar to you. Same was true for me when I watched this one two nights ago. Not even lead actor Bruce Spence is really famous or anything. He also disappears a bit from the picture in the last third of the film you can say, only to fully return then towards the end in the final scene especially. I thought he gave a good performance. It is not extremely stellar or bold, but a convincing character study of a man whose views are changing because of the experiences he makes and he pretty much turns into the man in this little house there towards the end and said man realizes it as well and that is why he is no longer as opposed to Spence's Hackett as he is when Hackett knocks at his door earlier. Then there's the Aborigines of course. It looks as if those are portrayed by actual Aborigines as those have virtually no other acting credits to their names. Could be that the two with the most screen time are actually related here. There I was a bit confused who was the translator and who was the one understanding the English language, but oh well. It is fairly telling that the eldest of them is eventually killed in this airplane crash there and there is some irony that he was also the one who said that he wants this military plane and in a way he buried his own grave this way. He did not know what was about to happen when the other man flew off and there was a bit of preparation already earlier when we see the same man enter the plane, but at this point things did not go wrong yet. You can also probably make a connection between the plane in this film here and the opera house in another film, one Herzog made with Kinski, in terms of stuff that simply does not belong there, but well if I remember correctly the opera house was not as devastating in the end.

In the second half, this film even becomes a bit of a courtroom drama, even if the outcome there is never really in doubt. I surely liked the approach Herzog took here when he had the Aborigines come up with this very special artefact and they say it must not be shown to anybody who is not absolutely required to see it to understand their motives. As a consequence, it was also not shown to the people watching this film, but this made it maybe even more special because the White folks who saw it saw nothing special in it at all and could not understand the significance. It must have been a bit of a desecration for the Aborigines anyway to show it to the judge and the ones in charge of the protocol and this is actually maybe the saddest moment of the film because it showed us how desperate they were and how hopeless their case was. Those explosions we see early on there and also towards the end when the case is closed and the eldest had died already made sure that all hope was gone. So it is a film with nice depth that tells an interesting story, exactly what most German films have been missing for years, if not decades, when elaborating on the subject of foreign cultures. But nowadays all is really only about immigration anyway and as uninspired as it gets while being praised to the skies as if these awful films were truly creative achievements and contemporary relevant. Nobody will talk about them 50 years from now. That much is safe. Pretty ironic that Herzog showed them already so long ago how it is done and still they cannot follow in his footsteps.

Oh well, back to this one here: The scene in the supermarket with the Aborigines sitting there where once a tree existed was bittersweet somehow. In a way, it was funny because of the absurdity to it and on the other hand it was also sad because of what was lost for them that they can never get back. I think the supermarket guy in this scene may have been co-writer Ellis, who was by the way born the very same year as Herzog, just little under half a year earlier. Another thing I liked about the film was the music, especially on two occasions. Or I should maybe say three occasions because we hear the locals singing on two occasions already and their chants were indeed pretty haunting. And then you also hear a female opera singer almost, very high-pitched voice, during one scene that also had memorable images. But the visual side is always spectacular with Herzog anyway, no matter if we are talking about his documentaries or live action films. He is never totally getting away from the documentary genre either anyway and here this is also true with the Aborigine actors of course. But the rest is fictitious apparently including all the references to the green ants, which was even used for the film's title. I totally bought it though, so nice job to Herzog for coming up with this. He is just a master of metaphors you can say.

In any case, this film has many strengths, not just story and acting, but also the aforementioned images, no matter if we are talking nature sights and phenomena or the strong contrast of men-made technology we see (and hear) there. You will also find references to how alcohol, nicotine and other drugs are brought from the White man to the natives and in a way ruin their lives, even if it is not specifically elaborated on in this movie. The technology is what kills them eventually here. At least in the example of the eldest of them and the plane. Look at the scene in which they start a fire inside the plane, but turns out to be really harmless despite the panicking. They maybe should have panicked instead when the man asked them to even bring the plane over there. So yeah, this little fire scene or also the improvised runway where moments when the film made people in the audience smile a little. There were more, which means that no matter which perspective you are taking when seeing this film, it will always be a success. Also from the aforementioned character development perspective. Just look at the words the protagonist says during dinner with the Aborigines. The ones about the elevator. Or how he talks to his boss towards the end then and we can be sure his job is gone eventually. Because he wants it so. That is all then. Overall, this film surely gets a thumbs-up and while it was much closer to a great movie than to a forgettable or weak movie, I would still say at this point that it is a solid or good movie and deserves 3 stars out of 5. I recommend seeing it. Not one of Herzog's best I guess, but only because he has so many great achievements in his body of work. This one here would be among most other filmmaker's finest. Go see it. You don't need to wait for it to come to the big screen again. May all the people who worked on this film and are no longer with us rest in peace now, not only the Aborigines, but everybody. Glad Herzog's still there, hopefully for at least another decade.

Hallucinatory

[tataglia · 9/10 · 4 September 2007]

I also remember this film as life-changing. I saw it at the TIFF many years ago and was baffled by it.

There is a small scene in an elevator that I remember as a transcendent cinematic moment.

Like so many of Herzog's films, it is deeply moving for reasons that aren't easy to put your finger on - often with Herzog it's an odd juxtaposition, an awkward silence, a strange edit, an inappropriate flash of humour or horror that produce a flash of insight.

This film, at the time, seemed conventional by Herzog's standards, but I still left the theatre feeling slightly drugged, always a good sign.

A Neglected and Unknown Classic

[artzau · 9/10 · 2 July 2002]

I'm invariably surprised when I mention this film to friends that they say they've never seen it. Werner Herzog in Australia? C'mon. How could the great German director of Wozzeck, Nosferatu and other Gothic classics concern himself with a very oblique tale of a development project impeded by Aboriginal Australians who contend that disturbing the green ants dreams by ripping up their habitat will likewise rip the fabric of the universe? The government solution is to give them an airplane which one of the younger members of their tribe eventually manages to take off with a number of the elders on board. Looking over the cast, you likely not recognize names that most of us who don't follow Aussie films know; some of us may know Bruce Spence from the Mad Max films who plays a geologist, but there are many Australian Aborigines. A poignant moment is seen in the court room scene where one Aborigine rises to speak and the judge asks for a translation, only to be told the men is called "the Mute" because there's no one left who understands his tribal language.

The overall effect of the film is wonderfully Herzog with a surrealistic portrayal of the clash of old and new, progress versus conservation and fraught with cultural miscommunication. I really recommend this film for your viewing.

A Complete and Utter Failure

[juanathan · 1/10 · 28 July 2005]

The words uneven and messy can not do this film justice. This has to be by far Herzog's worst film to date. I really went looking for this film and I now regret every minute I wasted trying to find it. Before I go to my real analysis, I have to say I am a pretty big Herzog fan but this film is a humongous disappointment.

I have to say it started out on the right foot in begins with obscure footage of tornadoes and then moves on to a man in the Outback playing his digderidoo while the camera scans over an almost alien landscape. A very Herzogian way to begin the film. The biggest complaint is the acting. This is by far some of the worst acting I have ever, ever seen in a feature film. It is truly terrible. Even the leads were bad. Bruce Spence should probably never work in film again. The dialog is awful and completely insipid. It tries to be thought provoking but falls flat on its' face. The plot really makes absolutely no sense and they never try to explain it. The film tries to be powerful but winds being the classic "oppressed minority versus white majority" story that I could have watched on cable. Although I really cannot say anything bad about the cinematography, I was disappointed in the lack of apparitions that usually appear in Herzog's films. It is not very exciting. There is absolutely no insight to the characters. At the end, the film tries to bring back some of Stroszek's magic but winds looking like a desperate attempt to usher something in worthwhile so the audience will not felt they have been cheated by watching this debacle. The ending with more tornado footage serves as a very regurgitated message of the film. The classical music is also used very out of place.

Travails With My Ant

[Prof_Lostiswitz · 10/10 · 2 February 2004]

I hadn't thought that Herzog was capable of making a good film without Kinski, only some pretentious artsy thing like Heart of Glass.

Well, Green Ants proves me wrong. This is a great film that shows the conflict between white and aboriginal civilizations without being sentimental or condescending to either side. With Hollywood we'd some cliché about noble savages and suchlike, but here you get the feeling of dealing with real human beings.

Oh yeah, the plot deals with an Australian mining company that wants to blow up a sacred site to do mineral exploitation. Herzog avoids stereotyped poses to bring out the situation as it would occur in real life. Plus you get some great shots of the outback.

I plan to lend this one to all my aboriginal friends!

Excellent study on human nature....

[wlebing · 10/10 · 26 February 2004]

This film has been ignored by the mainstream media. It portrays the futile struggle of an Aboriginal tribe against the needs of civilization. From the first confrontation you know how it will end, but you keep hoping that perhaps the mindless and soul-less rush of progress won't wipe out one more culture.

Herzog captures the story in a series of vignettes, each one expressing a fleeting thought or detail.

At one point Bruce Spence is trying to explain his theory of space and time to one of the elders, who rebukes him. His reply to the elder is "I'm trying to understand, really I am." The movie is a predecessor to "Rabbit Proof Fence". It makes you realize that as a society we just don't get it.

I highly recommend it.

Interrupted REM

[tedg · 20 December 2008]

Herzog is a simple man, easy to read. Hearing him talk of his films, one gets bored easily.

His films are simply conceived, like Lynch's, but once he gets rolling, his intuitions take him to strange, exotic corners of the soul. There he leaves traces that last. I love the man's work, much of it. I love the fact that he really seems to be driven by urges that seem to accidentally result in something that can cross the distribution divide to reach me. This is no small feat; the films I watch that have ideas and matter are what — maybe a millionth, a billionth? of the similarly deep insights and artifacts that would have similar effect in me, but which cannot cross that divide.

When I watch his work, some of which I reserve for the future, it is a dip into the film of Herzog. Failures add to this. Risks that did not pan out for him, do for me.

This film has some heavy disadvantages. He is in Australia and he simply does not understand that to photograph the land the way it affects its inhabitants, you have to photograph nothing. Nothing is what matters. But he gives us a tornado. Its beautiful and violent — it even fits the story. He gives us unrelenting piles of boring waste. This too is effective in the film, but not of the place.

He misses both the place and he people. He does give us beautiful Aboriginal faces. He does celebrate them. But its from a deeply disturbing patriarchal, colonial perspective. There is some of this in his Peruvian adventures, but it is hidden in his respect for the Jungle. The natives are simply part of the terrain. He cannot do that here. This also suffers in that he felt it necessary to have an on-screen observer who "learns" the value of the place and turns from heading the mining effort to living with the people.

The result is that the film is overt in its sentiments, but everything works against its honesty. We are left with having to accept it locally, each scene as a sort of standalone taste: black patient faces staring out of pilot seats in an airplane given to them; a man on a witness stand testifying in a language no other soul on the planet understands; an old biddy waiting in the sun at a mine opening on the of chance that her beloved doggie will reappear; that tornado; the (overearnest) story of the sleeping green ants whose dreams we are.

This has value in those small pieces, pretty much throughout. But in the large, taken the way he intends it, its just a colonial German peering into a quaint culture as an ordinary tourist would. So it dilutes the greater story, the greater film of the man.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Captivating

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 5 October 2023]

I'd been after seeing this film for a long time given the subject matter and the fact that Herzog is one of my all-time favourite directors. Unsurprisingly, I loved it. The story explores Aboriginal folklore in a sensative and captivating way and can be ranked alongside other genre classics like THE LAST WAVE and THE CHANT OF JIMMY BLACKSMITH. Herzog's wonderful cinematography brings the landscapes to beautiful life and the courtroom drama is just as engaging as the on-site hostility. Great to see the usual supporting actor Bruce Spence given a meatier role, too. Along the way, Herzog delivers many scenes that will stay in my mind a long time.

Another Miss

[mcjensen-05924 · 1/10 · 23 January 2024]

When Herzog misses, he missed badly. Although it's not nearly as wretched as Even Dwarfs started small, where the soundtrack alone made it unwatchable, it's certainly a harsh slog to endure. There's the trademark cinematography, capturing bleak uninviting places in a very clever and alluring way. His eye for that never falters. Everything else fails to work. It's just a very uninteresting movie with very bland characters spouting dialogue that I was completely indifferent to. The Natives were treated with dignity, but sadly none of them could act worth spit. Honestly, as with the aforementioned Dwarfs disasterpiece, I couldn't endure the entire film. It was painfully clear from the outset that nothing could possible happen to drag the movie off the path it unfortunately started out on.

A film I will always remember

[lclh · 28 May 2003]

I probably saw this film back in in 1984 and it still sticks to my memory. I honestly don't know if that's good or bad. What i do know is that a film still with me after almost 20 years deserve a comment. When I went out of the theater i thought to my self that this must be the worst film ever. But as time has gone by, and the film still stick I'm no longer so sure. The film was first of all my first encounter with aborigines, and it made me feel sad on their behalf. Second of all, the opening scene with native music and majestic nature, is one of the best ever made. This is not a 10, to the ordinary viewer but to me it gets close.