Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A study of the psychology of a champion ski-flyer, whose full-time occupation is carpentry.
Werner Herzog's documentary portrait of Walter Steiner is a singular, haunting film that transcends sports documentary conventions entirely. The slow-motion ski-jump footage, shot with multiple cameras, is genuinely extraordinary — some of the most mesmerizing sports cinematography ever captured, conveying both sublime grace and existential dread. Novelty is high because Herzog finds in Steiner's predicament (he flies too far, beyond the safety margins of the hill) a metaphor for the terror of exceeding human limits, stamping the film with his unmistakable philosophical obsession. Acting is rated low as a category since this is documentary and the subjects are not performing, though Steiner's natural presence is compelling. The ending carries emotional weight but is somewhat inconclusive, befitting Herzog's essayistic style rather than a dramatically resolved conclusion.