The second feature film from acclaimed art-house Director
Werner Herzog, 1970’s Even Dwarfs Started
Small is an extremely weird metaphor for Western Society set in a world in
which everyone is a dwarf. On a remote Mediterranean Island
sits an asylum in which the inmates have taken control. With their leader held
hostage by the Director inside the building, the inmates cause havoc outside,
gleefully smashing windows, killing animals, burning plants, teasing the two
blind inmates and abandoning a van which drives around and around in circles.
I’m a big fan of Herzog’s but haven’t enjoyed all of his
films. Even Dwarfs Started Small is
an example of a film that I did enjoy but I’m not totally sure why. My mouth
was agape as the strange actions unfolded and it makes for compelling viewing.
The fact that every actor is a dwarf helps to add to the strangeness but even
had the actors been of average height, this film would still rank as one of the
craziest and unusual films I’ve seen.
