How much Wood would a Woodchuck chuck... - Beobachtungen zu einer neuen Sprache

They talk so fast that you need ears like a super-hawk to really decipher what they're getting at, but it's this speed at going about selling goods that interest Werner Herzog so much. He's said in interviews that it's almost like "the poetry of capitalism", as these high-stakes auctioneers, selling off cattle within a matter of seconds, are in a unique little world unto themselves and their small audience, mostly full of small town yokels and Amish. This doesn't make his documentary on them particularly exceptional, however, as it's a little too long and a little much without a lot of human interest; we don't know who most of these ultra-fast talkers are. It is, however, quite funny at times to see them go this fast, perhaps in a sort of detached way (then again, how can one who's never been to a cattle auction know anything about what it's like to see mouths go at a mile a minute).

It's great to see when he's interviewing one guy and he starts explaining how he auctions, and at first in regular speed soon as a sort of reflex goes off into his ultra-fast speaking voice. I also liked getting into the groove of the competition, as it were, seeing how despite it being still at lighting speed with numbers and calls it can be understood which ones are the slower ones. Although Herzog fares a lot better using the auctioneer in his fiction film Stroszek- Scott McKain is the one featured in the scene where Stroszek's items are sold off in an immediacy that is purely staggering and, as it's so unexpected following the pace of that film, is one of the most hilarious scenes of the 70s in cinema- it's a fine little portrait of a group that is somewhat representative of the fun that's missing in more run of the mill acts of commerce. You're not going to see this kind of auction at an art gallery in midtown New York, only in a Herzog film.

Apparently, Werner Herzog was very fascinated with the vocal skills and cadence needed to be a livestock auctioneer. Here, he and his crew attend the livestock auctioneer world championship and seem to record EVERYTHING. While this might have been interesting for 10-15 minutes, at 45 minutes it was a bit of a chore to stick with this one. Just how many fast-talking auctioneers do you need to hear before boredom sets in--I don't know for sure, but Herzog more than surpassed that. Had the film had more back story and information about the participants themselves, the film probably would have sustained my attention longer. In addition, a few little vignettes could have been expanded--such as Herzog and the Quakers trying to communicate in German together. I am no expert on German language, but I could tell that the two languages had diverged considerably over the centuries and I wish this segment had been a bit longer. Or, perhaps he and his folks could have interviewed some of the members of the audience or the auctioneers' families. All I know is that it just felt way over-long.

For the most part any documentary that Werner Herzog has made results in you seeing something in a new light, even if you don't like the subject. There is always a reason behind anything he has taken a look at. The subject here is auctioneers. I wouldn't have thought twice about a film about men who sell live stock for a living, however having seen a good number of Herzogs films I decided to give this one a shot as well. What fascinates the director is the sounds the men use. It seems to be more music or singing rather than talking;the words becoming a poetry thanks to the cadences. Its a weird sensation. Granted the magic goes away when the film ends and you watch auctioneers at work away from the film, however during the 44 minutes the film runs you are in the hands of a master who makes you believe that music and poetry is something other than what you think it is. Definitely worth a look.

I watched this in a creative writing class in order to gain inspiration to expand into more experimental writing. I'm not sure it served that purpose, but the documentary does have a very experimental and ballsy feel to it. A documentary about auctioneers is a hard sell, but the true meaning (at least what I got out of it) is pretty excellent, that being communication and art is everywhere. The flow and process of talking at such speeds seems pointless(I honestly had no idea what the auctioneers were saying most of the time), but at the same time the judges and crowd are all giving feedback, and even judging how effectively they were selling the livestock, mainly based on rate of speech. At the same time, it was all about clarity. And I think that is what Herzog was going for. Unconventional, yet understandable.

7/10

Obviously not Herzog's best, but still definitely worth watching. The theme is classic Herzog-- I doubt that any other filmmaker would have considered cattle auctioneering world championships worth their celluloid. At 44 minutes, this isn't really a major work, but as usual Herzog is able to communicate to his audience what it was that drew him to the unique subject. Like Herzog says, there's something "fascinating and frightening" about what these auctioneers do; it's almost like music or "art" but what purpose does it serve? Cattle gets sold as quickly as humanly possible. If the subject doesn't drive you away, give this a try. Technically, it's quite basic, but the Herzog magic is there.