Kinski
I just finished watching the documentary My Best Fiend: Klaus Kinski by Werner Herzog. It’s an excellent documentary that explores Herzog’s complicated relationship with Kinski and follows Herzog as he visits the scenes of many of Kinski’s great roles and the home they both briefly shared when Herzog was 13.
Kinski can be seen in many ways as the cliched “crazy artist”—his sudden outbursts, tantrums and quirks make him potential fodder for those who want to believe that true artists are mentally ill. But for Kinski, it was both an act (to keep attention focused on himself) and a genuine mania that drove his performances (and personal life) beyond the edge and into the realm of art.
The storm clouds of his temperament could swell up and engulf an entire set as he berated anyone and everyone in his sight, much like the recently exposed tantrum by Christian Bale. But when his energy and abilities were focused on the scene he was filming he could transform so completely into the character that his performances are frequently hypnotic and terrifying in their authenticity.
Kinski’s autobiography Kinski Uncut, is an interesting addendum (or maybe a preface?) to Herzog’s film. According to Herzog, the book is mostly fictional (and truly filthy!) which would suggest that either Kinski’s abilities came from his own confused state—his own inability to differentiate between his real life and that of his imagination, in other words that he was crazy. Or more likely, he recognized that the book was another chance for him to perform a role—the role of Klaus Kinski the mad, oversexed, artistic genius. There’s no way to tell for sure, his behavior was certainly beyond most norms but I think Kinski knew exactly what he was doing because he was a great artist willing to push his craft as far as it would go and was never afraid of what people thought of him or his work.
Tags: acting, books, documentaries, movies
News Feed
Video Podcast
Twitter
Sound Cloud
Flickr