Review: Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016)

Werner Herzog finds interesting subjects for his documentaries, and then coaxes fascinating conversation out of them. His latest film is no different, and gives us a truly insightful look at how being linked to the people and systems of the world affects how we live.

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World showcases these people in ten segments, ranging from horrific cyber-bullying to gleeful hackers on the run. Herzog lends a thoughtful and fresh perspective to web-related headlines.

The primary matter illustrated by Lo and Behold is the contrast between how remarkably robustly this system of inter-connected systems brings people together, and the fragility of the online ecosystem. Pioneers involved in building the backbone of the internet in the '60s and '70s explain that the internet wasn't designed with security in mind. Every person active on the internet in the early days could be listed in a paper-and-ink reference book, sorted once by name, and once by email address. A book no bigger than the phone book of a small city...or (if that's an unknown frame of reference) the size of a late-2000s MacBook.

Herzog's film presents a push and pull between those who recognize the incredible potential for the internet to unite, and those who see the dark side of inter-connected society. Whether horror stories of families receiving hideous pictures after an accident, or the sobering possibility of solar flares wiping out the entire web in one fell swoop, throwing modern society into chaos. For every doomsayer though, there is an evangelist offering top-notch education to the masses, or crowd-sourcing cancer research through video gaming.

Each subject is treated with respect bordering on reverence. There is no question that Herzog is interested in his interviewees, and gives them the space to share what is on their minds. When a heartbroken mother states that the internet is the Antichrist, a lesser filmmaker might see an opportunity to marginalize or mock. But in Herzog's hands, we see that this philosophy is born of pain and experience.

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World  is also immensely entertaining. Screening the film at the Full Frame Documentary Festival with a large audience, there were many times the theater erupted with cheerful laughter, as with the love between a boy and his robotic soccer player. Herzog doesn't really take a side in the pros and cons of the internet, but rather presents a broad section of ideas, presented with flair and tact, and asks us to contemplate our place in the connected world.