LO AND BEHOLD: REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD (Werner Herzog, U.S.). 98 minutes. Rating: NNN
Given his frequently expressed hostility to nature, it comes as a surprise that Werner Herzog is just as mistrustful of the information technology that’s supposed to lift us out of the natural world.
But that’s what we learn in this film, in which the Bavarian filmmaker explores the effect of the internet on human communication and quickly concludes we’re all doomed.
Grimly warning us of hackers, AI and state-sponsored cybercrime, Herzog turns into everyone’s grumpy uncle on Facebook, fretting about how, thanks to our reliance on centralized shipping, America’s food supply is only ever two brownouts away from total collapse. (The film was produced by NetScout Systems, an “application and network performance management” company, which might explain that angle.)
Entertaining, but not exactly illuminating.
