Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb TIFF Portrait StudioHispanic Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Where the Green Ants Dream

Original title: Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen
  • 1984
  • R
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
Where the Green Ants Dream (1984)
Drama

A geologist employed by an Australian mining company finds himself disputing the rights of some aborigines who believe their land to be sacred.A geologist employed by an Australian mining company finds himself disputing the rights of some aborigines who believe their land to be sacred.A geologist employed by an Australian mining company finds himself disputing the rights of some aborigines who believe their land to be sacred.

  • Director
    • Werner Herzog
  • Writers
    • Werner Herzog
    • Bob Ellis
  • Stars
    • Bruce Spence
    • Wandjuk Marika
    • Roy Marika
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    2.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Werner Herzog
    • Writers
      • Werner Herzog
      • Bob Ellis
    • Stars
      • Bruce Spence
      • Wandjuk Marika
      • Roy Marika
    • 18User reviews
    • 26Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 2 nominations total

    Photos53

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 48
    View Poster

    Top cast36

    Edit
    Bruce Spence
    Bruce Spence
    • Lance Hackett
    Wandjuk Marika
    Wandjuk Marika
    • Miliritbi
    Roy Marika
    Roy Marika
    • Dayipu
    Ray Barrett
    Ray Barrett
    • Cole
    Norman Kaye
    Norman Kaye
    • Baldwin Ferguson
    Ralph Cotterill
    Ralph Cotterill
    • Fletcher
    Nick Lathouris
    Nick Lathouris
    • Arnold
    Basil Clarke
    Basil Clarke
    • Judge Blackburn
    Ray Marshall
    • Solicitor General Coulthard
    Dhungala I. Marika
    Dhungala I. Marika
    • Malila 'The Mute'
    Gary Williams
    Gary Williams
    • Watson
    Tony Llewellyn-Jones
    Tony Llewellyn-Jones
    • Fitzsimmons
    Robert Brissenden
    • Professor Stanner
    Bob Ellis
    • Supermarket manager
    Michael Edols
    • Young attorney
    Susan Graeves
    • Secretary
    Marraru Wunungmurra
    • Daisy Barunga
    Max Fairchild
    Max Fairchild
    • Police Officer
    • Director
      • Werner Herzog
    • Writers
      • Werner Herzog
      • Bob Ellis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    6.92.8K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    9artzau

    A Neglected and Unknown Classic

    I'm invariably surprised when I mention this film to friends that they say they've never seen it. Werner Herzog in Australia? C'mon. How could the great German director of Wozzeck, Nosferatu and other Gothic classics concern himself with a very oblique tale of a development project impeded by Aboriginal Australians who contend that disturbing the green ants dreams by ripping up their habitat will likewise rip the fabric of the universe? The government solution is to give them an airplane which one of the younger members of their tribe eventually manages to take off with a number of the elders on board. Looking over the cast, you likely not recognize names that most of us who don't follow Aussie films know; some of us may know Bruce Spence from the Mad Max films who plays a geologist, but there are many Australian Aborigines. A poignant moment is seen in the court room scene where one Aborigine rises to speak and the judge asks for a translation, only to be told the men is called "the Mute" because there's no one left who understands his tribal language.

    The overall effect of the film is wonderfully Herzog with a surrealistic portrayal of the clash of old and new, progress versus conservation and fraught with cultural miscommunication. I really recommend this film for your viewing.
    9tataglia

    Hallucinatory

    I also remember this film as life-changing. I saw it at the TIFF many years ago and was baffled by it.

    There is a small scene in an elevator that I remember as a transcendent cinematic moment.

    Like so many of Herzog's films, it is deeply moving for reasons that aren't easy to put your finger on - often with Herzog it's an odd juxtaposition, an awkward silence, a strange edit, an inappropriate flash of humour or horror that produce a flash of insight.

    This film, at the time, seemed conventional by Herzog's standards, but I still left the theatre feeling slightly drugged, always a good sign.
    10Prof_Lostiswitz

    Travails With My Ant

    I hadn't thought that Herzog was capable of making a good film without Kinski, only some pretentious artsy thing like Heart of Glass.

    Well, Green Ants proves me wrong. This is a great film that shows the conflict between white and aboriginal civilizations without being sentimental or condescending to either side. With Hollywood we'd some cliché about noble savages and suchlike, but here you get the feeling of dealing with real human beings.

    Oh yeah, the plot deals with an Australian mining company that wants to blow up a sacred site to do mineral exploitation. Herzog avoids stereotyped poses to bring out the situation as it would occur in real life. Plus you get some great shots of the outback.

    I plan to lend this one to all my aboriginal friends!
    10wlebing

    Excellent study on human nature....

    This film has been ignored by the mainstream media. It portrays the futile struggle of an Aboriginal tribe against the needs of civilization. From the first confrontation you know how it will end, but you keep hoping that perhaps the mindless and soul-less rush of progress won't wipe out one more culture.

    Herzog captures the story in a series of vignettes, each one expressing a fleeting thought or detail.

    At one point Bruce Spence is trying to explain his theory of space and time to one of the elders, who rebukes him. His reply to the elder is "I'm trying to understand, really I am." The movie is a predecessor to "Rabbit Proof Fence". It makes you realize that as a society we just don't get it.

    I highly recommend it.
    8bunsenflunsen

    Another Herzog masterpiece

    Some idiot claims that this movie is horrible but I would argue that this he/she is mistaken. None of the dialog is improvised though the performances are raw which the previous reviewer might be confusing with improvisation. Most fans of Herzog are also aware that Herzog's dialog is highly stylized and often surreal which may, to close minded people, be misconstrued as trite or childish. Perhaps it is something one has to get used to or maybe Herzog films are best left to those who are willing to view something out of the ordinary. Of course, not everyone will like everything, but opinions that are expressed should only come from people who are informed as an uninformed opinion is like showing a dog a card trick.

    More like this

    Signs of Life
    7.0
    Signs of Life
    Cobra Verde
    6.9
    Cobra Verde
    Woyzeck
    7.0
    Woyzeck
    Heart of Glass
    6.8
    Heart of Glass
    Fata Morgana
    6.7
    Fata Morgana
    Ballad of the Little Soldier
    7.2
    Ballad of the Little Soldier
    Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia
    7.3
    Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia
    Stroszek
    7.7
    Stroszek
    Even Dwarfs Started Small
    6.7
    Even Dwarfs Started Small
    The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
    7.7
    The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
    Land of Silence and Darkness
    7.9
    Land of Silence and Darkness
    Wheel of Time
    7.1
    Wheel of Time

    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The whole story of the green ants was made up by Werner Herzog, it's not a part of genuine Aboriginal folklore. However the courtroom incident where a secret artifact is revealed, to the bemusement of the judge, is based on a real incident.
    • Quotes

      Lance Hackett: The situation, your Honor, is this man is the the sacred custodian to the secrets of this tribe. And his tribe has died out. He is the sole and final survivor of his people, his clan. They call him the mute, because there is nobody left on this earth for him to speak with.

    • Connections
      Featured in To the End of the World... and Then a Little Bit Further (1989)
    • Soundtracks
      Requiem Op. 48
      Music by Gabriel Fauré

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ16

    • How long is Where the Green Ants Dream?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 8, 1985 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • West Germany
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen
    • Filming locations
      • The Breakaways, Coober Pedy, South Australia, Australia
    • Production companies
      • Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
      • Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 40m(100 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.