Incident at Loch Ness

(2004)

directed by Zak Penn

reviewed by Jonathan Rocks

10.25.2007

Werner Herzog is a great director, and an enigmatic man. He has directed several incredible films and attempted a few that notoriously ended up falling apart. One thing he has always done is strived to create interesting and unique cinema. Though he didn't direct this film, his persona supercedes any of its other elements and he is by far the main reason to watch the film.

This pseudo-documentary tells the story of Zak Penn (Screenwriter of "X Men 2" and "Behind Enemy Lines") attempting to produce the next great film by Werner Herzog. As they construct a production team, there seems to be conflicting ideas about exactly what type of film they will be making. Herzog is interested in the nature of myths, such as the Loch Ness Monster, and why as a civilization we need to believe in them. Penn, on the other hand, has a decidedly more "Hollywood" type of film in mind.

It was quite obvious early on that this was not a real documentary. The story is told through the cameras of a film crew who is making a film about Herzog's life. They intend on accompanying him throughout the filming of this new film "The Enigma of Loch Ness." Problem is-- any sharp viewer will notice that the "candid" footage being captured during the shoot often slips into standard filmmaking techniques, such as shot-reverse shot in dialogue scenes. If there was only one camera, and this was shot on the fly, a shot-reverse shot could not happen. However, this didn't take anything away from the film as a whole, mainly because of Herzog himself. Whether it is his hypnotic accent, or the way he seemed to be the only one who truly wasn't acting, whenever he was on screen I was interested.

The film is certainly tongue in cheek. Director Zak Penn's character in particular is a caricature of a typical Hollywood producer, going as far as trying to hire a Playboy model as Herzog's “official sonar operator.” He also designed matching "Expedition Suits" for everyone on the crew to wear, bringing the feel of the film dangerously close to that of "The Life Aquatic." The film was funny, a little surrealistic and ultimately compelling. Even though I was in on the joke from the get-go, I was never bored. If you are a fan of Herzog, this is a must see-- even if just to see Zak Penn point a gun at him and exclaim, "Shoot this scene, or I'll shoot you." Good stuff.

Score: 3.5 out of 5

Buy this DVD at Amazon.com: Incident at Loch Ness