1 link tagged with all of: linguistics + language and identity + werner herzog + filmmaking philosophy
Click any tag below to further narrow down your results
Links
Werner Herzog explains why he won’t speak French, arguing language bears emotional weight and shapes one’s perspective. He says using a non-native tongue feels inauthentic and undermines the work’s integrity.
- Herzog refused to answer in French at the Berlin Film Festival even when translation was offered, insisting each language carries its own worldview that gets diluted in translation.
- He compares German to a Wagnerian horn (raw, majestic power) and English to an alto sax or clarinet (flexible but less rooted), while calling French too smooth for his dark, obsessive subject matter.
- Though he learned English on 1970s film sets and uses it out of necessity, he treats it as a borrowed tool and reserves German for crafting his personal narratives.