Even Dwarfs Started Small

There is an institution in a remote place. One day those held there revolt: the director shuts himself in his office and takes a hostage, and the rest are outside. The rules disappear. Nobody knows what to do. They break the plates, tip over the pots, set a car turning in circles in the yard, harm the animals and laugh at each other. The revolt is tied to no aim; once the order is broken, nothing comes in its place. Werner Herzog writes and directs. Everyone in the cast is a person living with dwarfism. It was shot on Lanzarote, on volcanic ground, and the setting is part of the narrative. The film's idea is not size but scale; every object is larger than the characters and the world was not built for them. The narrative uses that not as an obstacle but as an observation. It caused great objection on release and Herzog was criticised over it for a long time; the director argued the film is not about these people but about institutions and revolt. There is no plot at all; the scenes follow one another and no relation of cause and effect is built. The image is black and white and coarse; the camera mostly keeps its distance. The closing scene is its most cited section and is deliberately uncomfortable in its length. Who it is for: anyone curious about experimental cinema and early Herzog. Who it is not for: there is no narrative, some scenes involve animals, and the film is hard to watch.