Forgotten dreams: is Werner Herzog’s brand overshadowing his work?

It used to be that a new movie by Werner Herzog was an anticipated event; these days it’s more of an “Oh, another one”. Herzog sure seems to be churning them out. His latest, Family Romance, LLC, is his sixth feature in four years. Pretty impressive for a 77-year-old, but as well as the worry that he is spreading himself too thinly, is there a danger that Herzog is becoming a brand?

It is almost sacrilege to suggest such a thing. The German director is a living legend, and one of the most admired, adventurous film-makers ever, but there is a feeling that Herzog the personality is beginning to overshadow Herzog the film-maker. Partly this is a result of high-profile acting gigs in Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian and Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher. Also, Herzog possesses one of the most distinctive and imitable voices on the planet. His tender yet disdainful, German-accented intonation – part Attenborough, part Nico – has become a celebrity in itself, parodied by satirists and internet memesters, and regularly rented out by its owner, who has done voice cameos in everything from The Simpsons to Rick and Morty to Penguins of Madagascar.

An additional problem is that over the past decade or two, Herzog’s work has not been of a consistently high standard, especially his fictional stories. His formula used to be fairly simple: get Klaus Kinski or some other wild man, pitch them into a perilous situation, film the results. It worked well in the 70s and 80s. But in the 21st century, Herzog’s fictional features have often crashed and burned. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and Rescue Dawn were exceptions, but who will hold a candle for 2001’s Invincible? Or 2016 eco-drama Salt and Fire? Or his Gertrude Bell biopic Queen of the Desert?

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Of course, Herzog has also made a string of great documentaries in between: Grizzly Man, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, right up to the volcano-chasing Into the Inferno. Here, though, there are times when his brand has subsumed the work of others. Grizzly Man was largely shot by its ill-fated subject, bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. Happy People spent a year with Siberian trappers, but the footage was taken from Russian film-maker Dmitry Vasyukov’s miniseries. Herzog simply picked the best bits and added his trademark voiceover.

Family Romance, LLC is more minor Herzog: a subdued, quirky drama-doc hybrid about a Japanese professional impersonator hired to be the father of a 12-year-old girl. Herzog financed it himself, partly with his Mandalorian earnings. It may not be as intrepid as pulling a ship up a mountain, but it’s a sign that he is still out there, seeking the unknown. As Roger Ebert once said of him: “He always seems to know where to look.” But he also needs to learn when to slow down.