Cheap Where the Green Ants Dream (Video) (Werner Herzog) Price

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Customer Reviews of Where the Green Ants Dream

Reconciling different dreams in the Australian outback
If you have seen other movies by Werner Herzog (e.g. Aguirre the Wrath of God), this movie might remind you of his familiar theme of the collision of modern out-of-balance civilization with savage or state-of-nature blissful mysticism. A land dispute pits a powerful Australian mining company against a group of Aborigines who believe this sacred land is where mythical green ants dream (the title of the film). But unlike the straightforward good guy vs. bad guy movie, this plot unfolds amidst a slow but definite transformation of the characters on both sides of the dispute (and the judge who medaties the dispute), all of whom live through this encounter in different ways. Don't worry -this movie does not beat a pious message into your head.

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This and a few films by Aki Kaurismaki, and Wenders' American Friend are the only ones that I need to see more than once. I've seen this movie about a dozen times and its understated tragedies are compelling without shrieking. Great video, if you can find a copy. There is a good essay about this film by a follower of Jean-Francois Lyotard in the book Judging Lyotard.

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Open Your Eyes to the Dreams of the Green Ants
There is amazing beauty in the stark outback of Australia where Herzog filmed this drama. It's the simple story of Aboriginals who are trying to save their reality from the onslaught of civilization.

Herzog turns the story into pure poetry which opens your mind to other versions of reality. All the characters he introduces are amazingly rich and complex. The are no absolute good or bad characters. Instead there is a world full of people who must act within the rules of their own particular realities.

I'm watched it multiple times and the film always shakes my belief in the "absolute truth" of my metaphysical system. Each time I realize that perhaps my version reality is not the only possibility. This is not a bad experience, rather it opens new worlds for me to explore.

I recommend this video for those who have an open mind. The video quality is so - so, but that only adds to the charm of the movie.