Even among the works of the idiosyncratic German director Werner Herzog, "Herz aus Glas" (Heart of Glass", 1976) is one of the strangest ones.

The people of a small Bavarian village fall into despair after a master glassmaker dies, taking the technique used to make a highly valuable "ruby" glass along with him into the grave. At the same time, the sheperd Hias (played by Josef Bierbichler) utters enigmatic prophecies that seem to hint at the end of the world.

The growing madness of the villagers is contrasted by the serenity of nature, and like in many others of Herzog's films, there are extended, lyrical landscape sequences - clouds sweeping over vast forests, majestic waterfalls and sheer mountainsides.

The landscape of the film has been compared to the paintings of the great Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich, but as in other Herzog movies (particularly "Jeder fr sich und Gott gegen uns Alle" - The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser), the peaceful landscape contrasts with human folly. The prophecies of Hias at times allude not only to the Biblical apocalypse, but also to the horrors of Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Overall, the film is a mixture of success and failure - fascinating and exasperating, beautiful and almost unbearably slow. While based on a German folktale, it lacks a strong plot line and sometimes seems to flow along aimlessly, but leaves fascinating images in the mind of the viewer.

Cast:

Josef Bierbichler (Hias)
Stefan Gttler (Glass factory owner)
Clemens Scheitz (Adalbert)
Sonja Skiba (Ludmilla)