The short version
- Werner Herzog dismisses terms like neurodivergence as political correctness that mischaracterizes the central figures in his new film Bucking Fastard.
- The movie features Kate and Rooney Mara as twins who share a single voice and engage in destructive yet resilient behavior, loosely based on real-life sisters met decades ago.
- Herzog notes a growing connection with teenage audiences and has begun using Instagram to bridge the gap between his traditional filmmaking style and modern viewers.
Werner Herzog has publicly distanced himself from contemporary clinical frameworks used to describe human behavior, specifically rejecting the label of neurodivergence for the protagonists in his latest feature film. Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, the German director expressed strong reservations about terms such as ADHD and neurodiversity, characterizing them as forms of political correctness that cause him discomfort. He argued that applying these labels to the characters in Bucking Fastard implies a clinical aberration that does not exist, asserting instead that the figures are fundamentally centered and normal within their own context.
Bucking Fastard marks Herzog’s return to narrative feature filmmaking after a seventeen-year hiatus, during which he focused primarily on documentaries. The film stars sisters Kate and Rooney Mara as Jean and Joan Holbrooke, twin siblings who share identical clothing, preoccupations, and a single unified voice. Their story begins with a romantic fixation on a neighbor played by Orlando Bloom, leading to acts of revenge when he marries another woman. This initial conflict transitions into an ambitious and seemingly impossible project: digging a tunnel from a cave in County Sligo to the Orkney Islands.
While contemporary psychiatrists might identify traits associated with autism or hyper-focus in the twins’ behavior, Herzog refuses to engage with such interpretations. He stated that these trendy terms simply do not register for him, describing them as noise that falls out of his ears. For Herzog, the characters are not defined by deviation from a norm but by their intense mutual attachment and singular focus. The film is loosely inspired by Freda and Greta Chaplin, real-life twins from York whom the director encountered in the 1980s and who coined the title’s spoonerism during a legal proceeding.
A significant departure from Herzog’s earlier work lies in the portrayal of resilience and community support. While his previous films often featured isolated monomaniacs like Aguirre or Fitzcarraldo, the Holbrooke sisters in Bucking Fastard find allies despite being ostracized by their family and neighbors. Herzog emphasized that these characters are not merely passive or benign; they are capable of vengeance and destruction, including arson. This complexity adds a layer of agency to their narrative, distinguishing them from the purely tragic figures often found in his filmography.
The production process itself reflected Herzog’s ethical boundaries regarding animal welfare. The script originally called for the sisters to rescue a young fox, warming it under their arms as a symbol of connection and survival. However, when an animal dealer offered to provide a fox under the condition that its origin remain undisclosed, Herzog declined the offer. He refused to participate in any practice that might involve disturbing a den or exploiting wildlife, opting instead to navigate the narrative without the live animal. This decision underscores his commitment to certain moral lines even within the realm of artistic creation.
Despite his reputation for depicting the bleak and chaotic aspects of nature, Herzog indicated a shift toward finding joy and inner life in storytelling. The film includes sequences shot in a karst cave system near Postojna, Slovenia, which he described with reverence as a landscape of the soul and imagination. This setting serves as a backdrop for the sisters’ journey, blending the physical challenges of their quest with the metaphysical themes often present in his work. The inclusion of such locations maintains his signature aesthetic while allowing for moments of pathos and wonder.
Herzog has also observed a changing demographic among his audience, noting a significant increase in engagement from teenagers and young adults. He attributed this shift to a retrospective held at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2024, where the crowd consisted almost entirely of young people. In contrast, he noted that retrospectives for directors like Jean-Luc Godard tend to attract older audiences who grew up with their work. This generational bridge has prompted Herzog to adapt his own methods of connection with fans.
To better engage with this younger audience, Herzog launched an Instagram account last year at the suggestion of his youngest son. The platform allows him to share glimpses of his daily life, including barbecuing, home improvement projects, and unboxing packages. Although he does not own a mobile phone and relies on others to manage the content, he views this digital presence as a way to avoid isolation from his viewers. This move represents a pragmatic adjustment to modern media consumption habits, even as he maintains his traditional approach to filmmaking and storytelling.
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- The Guardian US↗‘I don’t like the term neurodivergence – it sounds like political correctness’: Werner Herzog on fans, fanaticism and baby foxes
