Stroszek

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Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S) is released from prison and warned to stop drinking. Inevitably, he winds up in a bar where he befriends a mistreated prostitute, Eva (Eve Mattes), who he invites to stay with him. When Bruno's neighbour, the elderly Mr.Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz), announces his intention to move to Railroad Flats, Wisconsin.

Bruno sees this as a chance for all three of them to leave Germany and begin new lives in the land of opportunity where, Bruno believes, everyone is rich. Unskilled and with few prospects Bruno, makes a meagre living as a street musician while Eva raises money on the streets to fund their trip. Eventually the trio find themselves living in a mobile home in the winter-bound prairie of Wisconsin, where they soon discover the American dream can also be a living nightmare.

Written in just four days by director Werner Herzog when plans to shoot an adaptation of Woyzeck with Bruno S in the starring role were postponed at the last minute, Stroszek is a bizarre tragicomedy featuring a unique cast and one of the most unforgettable endings in the history of cinema. In fact, Herzog himself regards the final sequence of Stroszek to be the finest he has ever filmed.

Factory worker, self-taught painter and musician Bruno S (The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser), who in real life spent 23 of the first 26 years of his life in various mental institutions, gives a haunting performance (essentially playing himself) as the eponymous hero. Herzog regular Clemens Scheitz (Nosferatu; Heart Of Glass; The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser) and Fassbinder favourite Eva Mattes (Enemy At The Gates; Woyzeck; Effi Briest), who won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival for her role in the film, assist in heading up a cast largely consisting of non-actors from the local community.

Often sad and deeply moving, Stroszek is a fascinating indictment of the failings of both pre-unification German society and the American Dream, filled with touches of quirky humour and human affection.

Stroszek is released on DVD by Anchor Bay UK on 15th November 2004.