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My Best Fiend
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Wikipedia article
'My Best Fiend' (, literally 'My Dearest Foe - Klaus Kinski') is a 1999 German documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, about his tumultuous yet productive relationship with German actor Klaus Kinski. It was released on DVD in 2000 by Anchor Bay.
Synopsis
The film opens with shots of Klaus Kinski performing, after his own interpretation, the role of Jesus. Kinski harangues the audience for not paying attention to him, curses wildly, has the microphone taken away from him, and, screaming, steals it back. This is the tour Kinski left to star in Herzog's film 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God' (1972). This was the first of five films that the two would make together, the others being 'Nosferatu the Vampyre' (1978); 'Woyzeck' (1978); 'Fitzcarraldo' (1982); and 'Cobra Verde' (1987).
After this opening, Herzog tours a substantially renovated apartment that he and his family shared with Kinski and other boarders. Herzog then tours some of the countries he and Kinski filmed at. He looks at the first film clip he ever saw of Kinski and presents footage from the sets of their various movies. He recounts the heated and sometimes violent altercations between them, including the oft-repeated story of how he threatened to shoot Kinski should he leave the production of 'Aguirre'. He also draws on footage from 'Burden of Dreams' (1982), a documentary about the making of 'Fitzcarraldo', which was a particularly difficult film for their relationship.
At the same time, Herzog expresses deep respect for Kinski's acting talent. Interviews with two of the women who starred opposite him, Eva Mattes (from 'Woyzeck') and Claudia Cardinale (from 'Fitzcarraldo'), suggest that the actor had a calmer side. Herzog also meets with Beat Presser, a photographer who has displayed many photos of Herzog and Kinski. One of these photos is used as the film's poster. The final sequence in the film shows Kinski playing with a butterfly in the Peruvian jungle.
Herzog describes Kinski's death as the result of having lived so strenuously and fully, describing him as "like a comet". His voice is heard over the final scene of 'Cobra Verde,' in which Kinski collapses in the surf as he tries to pull a large boat out to sea.
Critical reception
The documentary was screened out of competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. It has an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 7.00/10.
Janet Maslin of the 'New York Times' called the film "[a] captivating documentary, a film that serves as an eloquent coda to their unforgettable creative partnership.".[http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=&title2=My%20Best%20Fiend%3A%20Klaus%20Kinski%20%28Movie%29%20%20&reviewer=Janet%20Maslin&v_id=180024&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes Janet Maslin's review], 'New York Times' Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of a possible four, saying:
Jonathan Rosenbaum, writing for the 'Chicago Reader', was less enthusiastic, calling the film, "The art-movie equivalent to writer-director Blake Edwards's 'Trail of the Pink Panther':
In popular culture
* Independent film director Maverick Moore parodied both Louis Malle's film 'My Dinner with Andre' and, "the totally bonkers friendship between legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog and controversial actor Klaus Kinski" as chronicled in 'My Best Fiend', in the awarding -winning short comedy film 'My Dinner with Werner'.[https://www.firstshowing.net/2022/watch-blind-date-dinner-comedy-short-film-my-dinner-with-werner/ Watch: Blind Date Dinner: Comedy Short Film; 'My Dinner with Werner'] by Alex Billington, February 3, 2022.
* "My Friend Falcon", a fake "behind the scenes" episode of American TV show 'Childrens Hospital' depicts director David Wain's (as himself) contentious relationship with fictional cast member Justin Falcon (played by Ken Marino), parodying several scenes of 'My Best Fiend'. Over the course of the episode, it gets more and more obvious that Wain is responsible for many negative events in Falcon's life, is obsessed with him and is insane.
References
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