A review by stephen_coulon
Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir by Werner Herzog

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

It's filmmaker Werner Herzog’s incredulously truthful memoir. I both hate and love Herzog’s films. Some much of what he does is amateur and careless. The boring stretches of mediocre cinematography, weirdly out of tune synth music soundtracks, terrible editing and sound mixing, his shameless self-aggrandizement. On the other hand there is so much to love. He presents a truly unique point of view, his blend of abject nihilism and deep human empathy, his dedication to truthful imagery, his mission to tell stories no one else is willing to voice. It’s sometimes difficult to force myself to finish his films, but after every ending I’m very glad I did. I waffle on this memoir too. Parts are absolutely fascinating, especially if you are familiar with his films. The glimpses behind the scenes of his famously dangerous techniques are harrowing. On the other hand it’s difficult to know how much of it is true. When outlining his style of documentary filmmaking, Herzog explains his idea of “ecstatic truth,” which excuses factual dishonestly in favor of human truths. So every great story he tells in this memoir falls under the suspicion of his own dubious ethos. Nevertheless, he shares so many surprising moments of embarrassment, humility, and error that restore his credibility as a confessor in spite of his reputation for braggadocio. The best part of the memoir overall is Herzog’s manifold insights into the nature of living human life in an obviously hostile universe. If you have any attraction to Herzog’s pov from his films you’ll be fascinated by this book.