Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World (2016) Reviews

• Werner at his best

  JordanSatmary2016-01-26

  I was lucky to see this at Sundance with one of the best audiences. Somehow, even after Werner's extensive resume, this was his most immersive and informative documentary yet. The film doesn't just touch on the basic history and fundamentals of the Internet, but provides such a deep understanding of its past, present, and future. It dives into the wonders of what is possible while carefully reminding us about its dangers, all while Werner gives a very comedic voice-over. It's a shame that Roger Ebert isn't around to view this film. I know he would've been proud of his friend for creating such an accomplishment in documentary filmmaking.

• Amazing survey of the best and the worst of the Internet

  sfdphd2016-04-24

  I just saw this film at the SF Film Festival. I thought it was excellent. It was far better than I expected. I am not a tech person and assumed I would not really appreciate the subject matter. I only went to see it because I usually enjoy Herzog films and figured I would give it a chance. Wow, it kind of blew my mind to see the range of material that was covered. I was quite impressed that he managed to cover such a large canvas and each segment was fascinating. He created 10 segments, each focusing on a different perspective on tech. I really liked the fact that he started from the beginnings of the Internet and interviewed many of the earliest key people involved. This record of their experiences makes the film an invaluable document of history. I also really liked the fact that he confronted some of the very serious problems that the Internet has created in our world and didn't just focus on the wonderful aspects. Definitely check out this film, whether you love the Internet or hate it, there is great stuff here to ponder....

• Herzog's worst documentary, just when we need him most

  zelena332016-10-12

  There are very important, tough questions that need to be asked about where technology is leading us. "Does the internet dream of itself?" is not one of them. This effort from Herzog is a major disappointment but not a surprise, partly because it started out as a corporate promotional video. Also because most of his docs are ostensibly on subjects that aren't that interesting or important on the surface, but he makes them riveting. Here, he's tackling a subject about which everything that can be said, has already been said, except for the hard questions. Is the internet even a net positive thing? Why bother going to Mars? It's getting harder and harder "to make a contribution" (to science, or to society), so what does that mean for us? Soon enough robots will beat Messi at football -- will anyone want to watch that? These questions don't get asked. And these are easy ones that came up anyway. Herzog, who is a known non-tech guy, just seems ignorant and uninterested in technology, both the good and the bad of it. And we need him to pry forcefully into the moral morass that it's dragging us into. But he can't. He's just a baby boomer who is completely immersed in his real- world occupation that doesn't involve surfing the internet. He doesn't know, doesn't care. So unfortunately, he has gathered the most maddeningly thick-headed "scientific experts" to make bland, vapid observations about how amazing it all is. This is a huge disappointment. Werner is just not the man for this job -- so he's moved on to something more up his alley; volcanoes...

• Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World: Mixed bag

  Platypuschow2017-09-01

  Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World is a documentary by famed documentary film maker Werner Herzog. The guy has no niche, no area of expertise and has made films on everything from bears to volcanos to criminals and certainly has his way of doing things. This is a documentary on how the internet has shaped the modern world but it's flaw is it's lack of direction and instead bounces from one aspect of this digital world to the next rather randomly. It covers artificial intelligence and robots, it tells the origins of the internet, it touches upon the darkside of the net and gaming addictions and to those who insist on living without it. Though there are certainly some interesting parts the whole thing feels detrived and purposeless. I'd have rather seen a documentary that touches on one single aspect of a subject as broad as this. Watchable but not one of his best works and a tad chaotic for my liking. The Good: Well made Some very interesting moments The Bad: Herzog is a truly awful interviewer Documentary has no direction Things I learnt from this movie: If you own a Porche you make sure everyone knows, you don't acknowledge that you have a car.......it's a porche The internet is literally the anti-Christ

• Big disappointment

  me-justaman2016-09-26

  This director acquired a large following over the years. He's got some great movies in his resume, and a couple of real turds as well. Since he switched to documentary film making, he has found his own style that stands out by a personable narration, the use of music, and a often unique and poetic point of view. I quickly checked his recent work before: it looked like he has been giving "master classes" in theaters over the US (mostly rants and criticizing the world comfortably) and making some short movies (mostly self indulgent essays with no depth). But I was looking forward to this latest "effort" as I really loved his other feature length documentaries. But this film is a complete waste of time for the viewer. Its 10 segments feel like a very first draft hastily put together and that would need tons of work and reflection before being worthy of any presentation to an audience. It made me feel like the homework of a teenager for school. It is completely vapid, lazily put together, and often insulting for your intelligence. After wasting 1h40 watching this empty balloon unfold nowhere, the title becomes so pompous and pretentious. I was left angry for wasting my attention on this. It looks like this director is now living off his followers. He maybe thinks that anything he does will be appreciated by his fans who will find him cool and "unconventional" no matter what. But this film is simply not good, and really day-TV program level. Still, many of the people who are being interviewed in the film are fascinating and beautiful. You would like to see a competent artist and thinker take on this excellent subject. So in one word: VAPID.