Herzog Explores the Relationship Between Human and Technology in Thought-Provoking ‘Lo and Behold’

Sandra Miska

Acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog, who previously explored the art and habitat of humans in prehistoric France in 2010 documentary “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” now examines technology past, present and future and its impact on human life in “Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World.” Narrated, as always, by Herzog himself, the film offers a great deal of information and, even more importantly, poses thought-provoking questions about the internet, society, ethics and our future.

“Lo and Behold” begins on the UCLA campus in 1969, when a graduate student sent the first-ever email to a computer at Stanford University. He intended to type in “login” but only got to “lo,” hence the doc’s title. Archive news footage and interviews with those who were there in the beginning demonstrate how much the internet has evolved since—case in point, it wasn’t too long ago that every email address in the world could fit into one phone book-style directory.

Herzog goes on to explore the positive impact of online communities. The cure for AIDS or cancer may not be discovered in a lab, but perhaps online by users of Foldit, a game that allows regular people to restructure biomolecules. Everyone knows about Wikipedia, but few are aware of the group of Wiki loyalists pledged to preserve knowledge for future generations by printing out Wikipedia pages in the event of a catastrophic natural disaster, yet how paper will be preserved during an event severe enough to wipe out computers is anyone’s guess.

The downside of technology is also highlighted, as Herzog interviews a family who experienced the stuff of nightmares after their mentally ill daughter was killed in a car accident and a photo of her mutilated body were circulated online. He also introduces the inhabitants of a rural community forced to live in isolation due to their extreme sensitivity to the radiation produced by cell phone towers.

When interviewing business magnate and visionary inventor Elon Musk, Herzog asks big questions, such as what does Musk dream about, and what would a colony on Mars be like? It’s fairly exciting to think about how close we are to founding a Mars colony, while at the same time one can’t help but remember all the problems here on Earth we need to address before possibly mucking up another planet.

Eschewing quick cuts from subject to subject in his interviews, Herzog’s camera lingers on their faces, usually after something profound has been said, heightening the moment’s emotional impact.  Like all his films, “Lo and Behold” is a thoughtful, provocative achievement. The theoretical probability of robots becoming sentient is just the beginning. If robots can think, can they dream as well? Can they fall in love? The possibilities are infinite.

“Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World” opens in select theaters, on VOD and iTunes Aug. 19.