The Beast

Any day in which I am able to step into the path of extreme, globe-trotting seeker of weird people, Werner Herzog. is like the day the guy gets on one knee and the girl sees the 'White Diamond', is a day well lived.

Herzog follows Dr. Graham Dorrington to Guyana, where the British engineer hopes to take his helium-propelled "Jungle Airship", or as the crew sees it, a giant white diamond, for a test run. Dorrington anticipates soaring above the legendary rainforest near Kaieteur Falls in his weird, yet interesting invention - a risky operation for everyone involved in the film. Before Herzog begins the expedition, he gives viewers insight into the history of such creations and the danger associated with them. He begins at the turn of the 19th century and ends with the dying end of the Hindenburg in 1937, using old time, fast-paced footage and narration. We see that Dorrington is lead by a dreary past, and are continually unsure of the film's outcome. Will he live? Is this going to be a show of proof to the late Graham Dorrington?Throughout all this, we become acquainted with some of Guyana's residents, namely Mark Anthony Yhap, a loveable miner/Rasta with an down to earth out look on life. His simple minded philosophy life is far removed from Dorrington's lofty, technological ideals. The coincidence of the two provides a unique statement about life's possibilities. The different variety of scenery, from flocks of swifts to vibrant frogs and misty skies, is breathtaking and overwhelming, especially when we are taken into Mark Anthony's small peace of serenity.

Many things develop from this voyage, but a documentary film about airships is not mainly one of them. There are times where it pisses down with rain and kill Dorrington's plans to take off. Dorrington continues to have flash backs to Sumatran tragedy that haunts him, in which Herzog captures it well in a rehearsed interview.