My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? dir. Werner Herzog (trailer)

Since 1987’s Cobra Verde, Werner Herzog has directed just two feature films in the ensuing twenty two years—Invincible (2001) and Rescue Dawn (2007), preferring to focus increasingly upon documentaries. It appears he made the right choice as these features were met with general indifference both critically and at the box-office, while his documentaries have garnered multiple awards and almost universal praise. However, with My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?, Herzog’s interest in the fiction format appears to have been reignited, with two features completed (the other being his Bad Lieutenant reimagining) and yet another soon to begin filming.

Now, for those of you who upon seeing the title card David Lynch Presents a Werner Herzog Film didn’t immediately turn off the trailer and start pulling out your wallets- let me enlighten you as to why this quite possibly could be the most awesome-est thing ever!  OK, well maybe of the year…

Number one—the plot. The film is based on the true story of a San Diego man who acts out a Sophocles play in his mind and kills his mother with an antique saber. Awesome.

Number two—the cast. Willem Dafoe (owner of a lifetime pass for his work as Bobby Peru in Wild at Heart), Michael Shannon, Cloe Sevigny, Grace Zabriskie, and Udo Kier. Doubly awesome.

Number three—Uh, a pack of ostriches stole Udo Kier’s glasses. Seriously, did you not see that? When was the last time time you saw something that randomly weird (and totally unrelated to plot) in a mainstream American trailer? Exactly.

Unfortunately, no official release date has been provided as of yet. One possible reason—studio executives realized what they got themselves into and are nervously stalling for time trying to figure out how to market this eccentricity to cineplexes in Nebraska. If this is in fact the case, we may be waiting for quite some time…

—Brian Parks