By John Corrado

Director Thomas von Steinaecker’s documentary Radical Dreamer: Werner Herzog offers an enjoyable overview of the iconic German filmmaker’s career, known both for his accent and bold, inquisitive filmmaking style.

The documentary chronologically explores Herzog’s early films as part of the New German Cinema movement, which gave way to his reputation as a fearless filmmaker willing to take major risks with epic projects like Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo (including working with the notoriously difficult actor Klaus Kinski).

We hear stories from the complicated productions of these films, while in more playful moments Radical Dreamer looks at how Herzog became a beloved pop culture figure known for his distinctive voice (landing him guest spots on shows like The Simpsons and The Mandalorian).

Von Steinaecker also explores several of Herzog’s later documentary works that helped redefine his career, including Grizzly Man (cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger talks about filming that iconic scene with Herzog listening to the horrific recording of Timothy Tredwell’s final moments on headphones) and Encounters at the End of the World (which found Herzog narrating footage of a wayward penguin).

The film is structured around interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, while filmmakers like Chloe Zhao and Wim Wenders, as well as actors who have worked with him including Carl Weathers, Christian Bale, Nicole Kidman and Robert Pattinson, chime in to voice their admiration. At a brisk ninety minutes, Radical Dreamer is very much an overview, but an enjoyable one to watch for Herzog fans.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer opens in theatres in limited release on January 19th at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto and VIFF Centre in Vancouver, before expanding to Hamilton, London and Waterloo on January 26th. It’s being distributed in Canada by levelFILM.