“It was a subject [ volcanoes] that was dormant in me for a long time and it popped up 40 years ago when I made a [short] film on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe about a volcano that was about to explode and a single farmer refused to leave ["La Soufrière"].” YearsLongMadeFilmSubjectsLong TimeYears AgoIslandsFarmersCaribbeanVolcanoesDormantShort Films Author:Werner Herzog
“Ten years ago in Antarctica shooting "Encounters at the End of the World," I met a very fine volcanologist from Cambridge University [Clive Oppenheimer] and we kept talking about doing a film and all of a sudden it became serious when he hinted at the possibility to film in North Korea.” WorldYearsEndsFilmTalkingPossibilitySeriousFineMetsTenYears AgoUniversityShootingEncountersEnd Of The WorldKoreaNorth KoreaCambridgeAntarcticaCambridge University Author:Werner Herzog
“Everything you see in North Korea, it's all propaganda, but it's all connected to the volcano.” ConnectedPropagandaKoreaNorth KoreaVolcanoes Author:Werner Herzog
“Well, it had to be about the stories and the people who live under the volcano, what kind of new gods do they create? What sort of demons? And of course North Korea falls clearly into this category since the socialist revolution at the end of the Second World War. Somehow they adopted the myth of the power and dynamics of their volcano.” PeopleWorldWellsKindWarEndsStoriesFallCoursesRevolutionMythWar Of The WorldsDemonCategoriesSocialistAdoptedKoreaNorth KoreaSecond World WarDynamicsVolcanoes Author:Werner Herzog
“There are photos of Kim Jong-un right up atop the volcano. I actually wrote a letter to him asking if I could speak on camera. I never got an answer. But what was interesting was the people who were responsible for us, our "guards," it took them two days to figure out how I should address him. "President? No, you can't because there's a president for eternity." And it was a time when his status was still in flux. Only a few months later there was this party congress which assigned an official title to him, but that was after we did our film.” PeopleIfsShouldStillsTwoFilmSpeakPresidentAnswersInterestingPartyFiguresMonthsLettersEternityAskingResponsibleCamerasCongressTitlesOfficialsIf I CouldAddressesTwo DaysKimFluxVolcanoes Author:Werner Herzog
“I do not recall to [Kim Jong-un], but it was complex. "Dear young leader of the people and chairman of the joint military commission" or something like that.” PeopleYoungLeaderMilitaryComplexesDearRecallsJointsChairmanKimYoung Leaders Author:Werner Herzog
“I was able to persuade them to let me shoot in areas that were beyond the volcano itself. Beyond the joint scientific program between Cambridge University and North Korean scientists. I was able to film in a kindergarten, subway, other things you would not normally be allowed to do.” AbleFilmAreasProgramScientistLet MeUniversityJointsNorth KoreaKoreanSubwayKindergartenVolcanoesCambridgeNorth KoreanCambridge University Author:Werner Herzog
“The deal was we had to have people accompanying us and they would ask us not to film something [in North Korea]. For example, we wanted to film at a certain place and there happened to be a building under construction and it didn't look as fancy as the other buildings, so they wanted us to shoot where everything looked finished and made a good impression of the cityscape.” PeopleLooksMadeWantedFilmCertainAsksDealsHappenedExampleBuildingFinishedImpressionFancyConstructionKoreaNorth KoreaUnder ConstructionCityscapes Author:Werner Herzog
“I couldn't roam wildly and speak secretly with villagers [in North Korea]. No way you could do that. And honestly, I didn't even try. I was realistic of what I could do and yet persuaded them into accepting numerous things that I shouldn't have filmed.” WayTryingSpeakAcceptingHonestlyRealisticKoreaNorth Korea Author:Werner Herzog