Another Herzog journey into the unknown, Ballad of the Little Soldier takes place in northeastern Nicaragua following the Miskito Indians who are engaged in a war with the Sandinistas, who've recently come into power after the overthrow of the Somoza government. The Miskitos just want to preserve their culture but a ruthless campaign by this new regime has left them uprooted, and facing a systematic massacre of their culture and their people. Having no military training to speak of, the Miskitos have assembled a group of soldiers, which consists largely of 10 to 12 year old boys. Werner Herzog's Ballad of the Little Soldier opens with a young child soldier singing a song which can only be described as upbeat. His wide smile and upbeat demeanor captures the innocence which is inevitably going to be shattered from the monstrosities the Miskito tribe lives in. This type of juxtaposition is a subtle but powerful way to open the film, which consists almost entirely of interviews from the Miskitos who share their stories of torture and violence. As one could only imagine this is a shocking and depressing film with Herzog simply documenting this conflict. Herzog himself never tries to make sense of such horrible truths, simply capturing the insanity of the world we live in while simultaneously praising the human spirit as much as possible.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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