Famed Director Werner Herzog Can’t Get the Brain Out of His Mind in ‘The Theater of Thought’

Director Werner Herzog has built a reputation on making movies that ponder life’s existential questions. His new documentary, “The Theater of Thought,” delves into the latest technologies and scientific research focused on the brain. While it can sometimes feel like an extended segment of “60 Minutes,” the director’s discursive style and occasional flights-of-fancy elevate the film’s procession of professors, doctors, entrepreneurs, and devices. That’s not to say that those on camera don’t address interesting topics, possess curious backstories, or exhibit slightly offbeat characteristics, much like their interlocutor. Mostly, though, they impart immense intelligence and insight into the human brain and how advances in our understanding of the organ may transform society.At the start of the documentary, Mr. Herzog declares his long fascination with the workings of the cerebrum and its function in creativity. The director, who also narrates, talks about storytelling and art with some of his interview subjects, and touches directly upon the topic in a segment featuring an Israeli professor at Princeton University who uses a J.D. Salinger short story, “Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes,” to analyze how we anticipate narrative. There are even clips showing computer-generated images “decoded” from a mind; even though fuzzy and vague, they’re fascinating. Particular attention is paid to developments in brain interfaces used to tackle physiological problems, as when we see a woman paralyzed from the neck down able to move a mechanical arm via a machine. An interlude featuring brain surgery footage and examples of computer-activated speech via sensors placed within skulls are further examples of how this research is revolutionizing healthcare. These medical miracles offer a counterpoint to the more densely technological or theoretical discourse, which Mr. Herzog himself acknowledges can be dry. Speaking of miracles, Mr. Herzog also interpolates poetic imagery that takes the film beyond neuroscience even while retaining a tangential thread to the subject at hand. One features moments from the opening sequence of a 1930 silent movie, “Earth,” by a Ukrainian director, Oleksandr Dovzhenko; another involves time-lapse photography of fireflies in a moon-lit forest at night. There’s also a scene with the still-spry Philippe Petit, the famed tightrope walker who in 1974 traversed the two World Trade Center towers while 1,312 feet above the ground. These interludes serve as intriguing palette cleansers to the sometimes prosaic meat-and-potatoes of talking heads, computer simulations, and microchips.At one point a Columbia University scientist nonchalantly mentions that microchips can now be delivered into the body via hypodermic needles, and soon afterward a professor from MIT discusses embeddable fiber optics and drinkable nanoparticles that can convey neurological commands. These breakthrough applications to the human body bring up legal, spiritual, and political ramifications that come sharply into focus. This cautionary tone from Mr. Herzog — who also references AI, groupthink, and videogames — can seem at odds with his sometimes playful, entertaining asides, such as when he asks an eminent scientist couple, one of them a Nobel Prize winner, if they ever clash over ideas while at the dinner table. Yet it’s all of a piece with his filmmaking style, which has always combined wry irony and earnest sincerity in feature films such as “Fitzcarraldo” and documentaries like “Grizzly Man.”One observes while watching “The Theater of Thought” that several of the visionaries interviewed come from abroad, illustrating how the U.S. attracts the best “brains” to its top universities and companies. This can be seen as a testament to the excellence of our institutions and corporations, as well as of our diverse homegrown talent. Combined with insights into brain function, philosophical detours, and whimsical vignettes, this subtle display of American resources, productivity, and ingenuity makes for compelling viewing.Mr. Herzog ends his film with two clips of soldiers enacting dance-like maneuvers. Is he suggesting these men have been programmed through their military training to perform the weird rituals, that they’ve been implanted with the socialization chip? Or is he noting the grace and creativity in their rigid movements, implying that the human spirit will always triumph over attempts to control and explain it? One leaves wondering.

Famed Director Werner Herzog Can’t Get the Brain Out of His Mind in ‘The Theater of Thought’

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