The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
About this episode
The episode discusses Werner Herzog's film 'The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser' and its exploration of the human condition.
In 1828, a seventeen-year-old boy was found wandering the streets of Nuremberg, holding two letters and unable to say more than a few words. The locals adopted him as a kind of municipal mascot; eventually, they learned that he had been bound in darkness until his release and struggled to learn more about his past. Werner Herzog took the story as a basis for his 1974 film–not one of his trademark documentaries–and used it as a meditation on the human condition. It’s an unforgettable experience, like seeing 2001 for the first time. Join us as we discuss the film’s ideas, humor, and audacity. Incredible bumper music by John Deley. The German title of the film is Every Man for Himself and God Against All, which is also the title of Werner Herzog’s 2024 memoir. Please subscribe to the show and consider leaving us a rating or review. You can find over three hundred episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show on Letterboxd and email us any time at fifteenminutefilm@gmail.com with requests and recommendations. Check out Dan Moran’s substack, Pages and Frames, where he writes about books and movies, as well as his many film-related author interviews on The New Books Network…
People in this episode
Host: Marshall Poe
Topics covered
- Werner Herzog
- film analysis
- human condition
- historical events
- cinematic experiences
- adoption and identity
Keywords
- Kaspar Hauser
- Werner Herzog
- film discussion
- human condition
- Nuremberg
- 1974 film
- cinema
- identity
- adoption
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: New Books Network, Pages and Frames, The Grumbler’s Almanac
Books & works: The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Every Man for Himself and God Against All
Places: Nuremberg
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