Back in cinemas to celebrate its 50th anniversary, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser is a film of great poetic and philosophical resonance. Based on the remarkable true story of the foundling Kaspar Hauser, it is an eloquent, deeply moving account of a grown man, barely able to walk or talk, who appears suddenly in the town square of Nuremberg, Germany, in 1828, clutching a letter which claims that his name is Kaspar. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but it seems that he has been imprisoned without human contact since childhood. He learns to speak, and some attempt is made to integrate him into society. He is puzzled over and examined by a series of learned minds, some sympathetic, some hostile, yet he seems to defy analysis. Featuring a mesmerising performance by non-actor Bruno S. in the lead role, the film picked up three awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Other films have been made about Kaspar Hauser, but Werner Herzog’s affecting, sensitive interpretation is surely the best of them.
Credits
West Germany 1974
109min
Cert PG
Dir Werner Herzog
With Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, Brigitte Mira
Venues
January
26 January
Triskel Arts Centre
28 January
Riverside Studio
29 January
JW3
31 January
Depot Lewes
February
2 February
King St Cinema
4 February
Cine Lumiere
Hyde Park Picturehouse
5 February
Warwick Arts Centre
9 February
Ultimate Picture Palace
March
1 March
Ashford Picturehouse
Bath Picturehouse
Bromley Picturehouse
Cambridge Picturehouse
Cameo
Chester Picturehouse
Clapham Picturehouse
Crouch End Picturehouse
Duke of York’s Picturehouse Brighton
East Dulwich Picturehouse
Ealing Picturehouse
Exeter Picturehouse
FACT Liverpool
Finsbury Pk Picturehouse
Fulham Rd Picturehouse
Gate Notting Hill
Greenwich Picturehouse
Hackney Picturehouse
Henley Picturehouse
Norwich Picturehouse
Oxford Picturehouse
Picturehouse Central
Ritzy
Stratford East Picturehouse
West Norwood Picturehouse
York Picturehouse
3 March
New Park Chichester