Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia

In his impressionistic film Glocken aus der Tiefe from 1993, Herzog directs his camera at post-communist Russia and asks the traditional population about their ideas about religion and spirituality and the influence of superstition on their daily lives. We are introduced to the Yulas from Mongolia, a nomadic tribe that tries to reach a deep meditative state by producing frog-like sounds. Herzog also shows how elderly people living by Lake Kitesh crawl around on all fours in the hope to catch a glimpse of the submerged ‘city of angels‘ that allegedly lies at the bottom. In the frosty period, they even risk their lives by crawling onto the often still thin ice. Without a real narrative line, a voice-over or a clear viewpoint, Herzog evokes a bizarre and humorous world that, between laughs, challenges the spectator to pass his personal judgement on what he sees. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)