Into the Abyss

CHICAGO – No matter which side of the capital punishment debate you fall on, Werner Herzog’s “Into the Abyss” is a masterful documentary, one you simply must see. It brilliantly reflects the complexities of one of the most divisive issues of our time. Herzog is vocally against the death penalty but he doesn’t present a case that would help solidify his arguments. He could have made a film about someone wrongly convicted. Instead, he dares to tell the story of someone who arguably deserves to die and then makes the emotionally difficult case that he still should not.

CHICAGO – Some films never get a fair shot with audiences. They open in a handful of art house theaters scattered throughout the country before inconspicuously landing on DVD. Passionate movie lovers are left with the task of championing these unjustly obscure titles and helping them to acquire the audience they deserve.

CHICAGO – Werner Herzog’s “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” is, in many ways, the ultimate documentary from one of our best living filmmakers in that it perfectly captures something notable about the man himself. The film, recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, is a document of the oldest existing cave paintings, stunning artwork that dates back thousands of years. In many ways, what the prehistoric men did in those caves is not unlike what Herzog himself has been doing — recording the natural world for future generations. It makes one wonder if people will watch this work in 10,000 years.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Through both his fictional and documentary work, Werner Herzog has long been interested in the workings of the natural world and our place in it. His new film, “Into the Abyss,” may at first seem like a departure from those themes but it centers on a subject that defies the natural world and order – the taking of another life. Easily one of the best documentaries of the year, this riveting, haunting piece of work fits perfectly into Herzog’s resume as one of our most important living filmmakers.

CHICAGO – In our latest documentary edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of IFC Films’ “Into the Abyss” from Werner Herzog about why people kill – and why a state kills!

CHICAGO – Illness has kept us from truly screening a majority of the films left to screen at the 47th Annual Chicago International Film Festival but there are three that we did get around to in the last month that are definitely worth your time, plus a handful of highlights that we wish we could have gotten to see that might draw your interest.