Stroszek

In one of the most strangest and fascinating art films ever made, Werner Herzog's Stroszek tells the simple story of a mentally disabled ex-con, a tiny quirky best friend and a girlfriend who is a prostitute, who all three decide to leave Germany and begin a new life in a trailer house in Wisconsin; Which Herzog purposely shot in the hometown of serial killer Ed Gein. Not only would Herzog decide to cast the roles of the townspeople with the real town locals, but he would also cast a non-actor named Bruno Scheinstein as the lead character. Bruno's lifestory is as strange and sad as the story itself, as he was born the son of a prostitute and incarcerated in a mental institution from most of his early life.

The screenplay for Stroszek was written quickly in four days as Herzog already had the location of Plainfield, Wisconsin in mind. There, Herzog had planned to meet documentary filmmaker Errol Morris to dig up serial killer Ed Gein's mother's grave, but Morris never showed. Fortunately for Herzog his car broke down which led him to meet the mechanic whose character and shop later become major parts in the story. There are several beautiful and humanistic moments in the film, whether its the extraordinary shot of the Fleet-wood home being towed off the land leaving Bruno all alone to helplessly stare at the empty cold Wisconsin landscape, the infamous 'dancing chicken' ending, which shows a montage of a chicken dancing, a chicken playing a piano and a rabbit riding a toy fire truck.