Reviewer's Rating 4 out of 5 Ìý User Rating 4 out of 5
The Wild Blue Yonder (2007)
PG

"I come from another galaxy, a blue one, way, way beyond your world", explains the alien narrator (Brad Dourif) in this visually imaginative and entertaining fake documentary. Written and directed by German film-maker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), The Wild Blue Yonder is split into ten chapters, which explain how extra-terrestial beings have fled from Andromeda to earth, and how in turn, humans have launched an emergency space mission to find a hospitable planet.

Herzog inventively draws upon plenty of 'found footage' in constructing his tall story, which he labels a "science fiction fantasy". There is material shot by the crew of the 1989 Space Shuttle Mission, in which the astronauts attempt to go about their daily work in zero gravity conditions, the stunning underwater sequences set below the polar cap, where divers capture the exotic flora and fauna that make up the 'wild blue yonder' of the title. Elsewhere, a saddened Dourif addresses the camera in an unnamed wasteland, explaining that he and his fellow travellers unsuccessfully attempted to construct a giant mall in this very location. "Aliens suck", he announces, "I guess we're all just failures."

"PLAYFUL YET SERIOUS"

The score, composed by a Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger and sung by Senegalese singer Mola Sylla, and a Sardinian choir, provides a haunting accompaniment to the collage of images. Yet despite the film's playful humour, there's also a deadly seriousness to The Wild Blue Yonder, for it shows man's insignificance faced with the sheer vastness of nature.

The Wild Blue Yonder is released in UK cinemas on Friday 15th June 2007.

End Credits

Director: Werner Herzog

Writer: Werner Herzog

Stars: Brad Dourif

Genre: Drama

Length: 77 minutes

Cinema: 15 June 2007

Country: USA

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