Lo and Behold. Ensueños de un mundo conectado

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.

Herzog is a character, a clown, and it's hard not to love him. The moments where he peeks out (voice only) in this film are the absolute highlights. But it's important to remember with Herzog's films that they are often more than just documentaries, and I don't believe for a second that Herzog feels any obligation to present anything factual. He's interested in concept and perspectives, but not necessarily a photo realistic portrayal of the world. This is why I would argue that Herzog's films are more essays than documentaries. As long as you remember this, you will have a good time watching this movie.

Herzog approaches the internet as if he is a stranger to it, leading to some very naive questions to the highly educated people he is interviewing. They are made to answer different questions than they are used to, and this leads to different answers. You can see Elon Musk being pulled out of his element by Herzog volunteering to go to mars.

Herzog has a gift of finding the peculiar in people and situations. I am a bit worried that some of the people he is interviewing is not aware of how he will present them. I'm sure Herzog does it with love, but it's still obvious that he pick moments in the interviews where they are at their most goofy.

When it comes to the subject itself, and it's interesting (though disjointed) exploration of the future of the internet and the connected world, but like any essay, it doesn't really answer any questions.

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....

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...

The internet is only a small subject for those that (like me) see it in the simple terms of what I know I do on it – check emails, read information, etc. However with such an expansive subject it was a good thing that the curious mind of Herzog was given the project of examining it in this film. I have read some people complain about the weakness of this film as a 'documentary', with comments about how key players such as Mark Zuckerberg and others are not included; the answer to such criticism is in the title, because this is not a documentary so much as it is a reverie, which is to say a musing and free-floating daydream through the subject.

In the editing suite this was obviously reined in somewhat because the film is structured into broad chapters. This helps the film be watchable, but importantly does not lose the sense of drifting through the subject with plenty to think about but nothing too solid that would break the state of reverie. Whether or not this works for you will depend on the individual, but Herzog's style made it work for me because he drives this approach with his angles and his line of thought (although he often seems less present than in some other of his films). It doesn't all fit together neatly of course, and at times tonally it is uneven, but mostly it is a quite fascinating wander through the ideas and connections of the internet, and is well worth seeing for what it leaves you with as much as what it offers directly.