First released in 1979 and directed by the great Werner Herzog, Woyzeck takes place in a small German town in the 19th century.  It’s the type of town where everyone knows everyone else and not much happens.  As is mentioned towards the end of the film, it’s been a while since the town has seen a “real murder.”

Franz Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski) is a soldier who lives in the town.  He’s had a son with Marie (Eva Mattes), despite not being married to her.  For that, Woyzeck’s Captain (Wolfgang Reichmann) continually tells him that he is immoral.  Woyzeck replies that the poor cannot afford morals.  To make extra money, Woyzeck does odd jobs for the Captain and he’s agreed to serve as an experimental test subject for the Doctor (Willy Semmelrogge).  The Doctor, who looks down on Woyzeck, has put Woyzeck on a diet of only peas.  He’s curious to see what this does to Woyzeck’s physical well-being but he has no interest in the fact that Woyzeck is obviously going mad.

Woyzeck, who, at the start of the film, is already hearing voices and talking about his apocalyptic visions, comes to suspect that Marie is cheating on him with a handsome Drum Major (Josef Bierbichler).  While the film does make it clear that the Drum Major is interested in Marie, whether or not she’s actually cheating is left ambiguous.  Woyzeck may believe that she is but Woyzeck also believes that he’s having visions of the end of the world so who knows whether one should trust his opinion.  Eventually, Woyzeck’s madness leads to tragedy and another ambiguous ending.  (The ambiguity reflects not only Werner Herzog’s customary aesthetic but also the fact that the film is based on a fragment of an unfinished play.)

What drives Woyzeck mad?  Was he born mad or was he driven mad by his jealousy over the Drum Major?  Does he truly love Marie or, as someone who has very little to his name, does he just want to possess her?  Is he driven crazy by the inequality all around him or is he just looking for an excuse to justify his own disturbed thoughts?  Herzog does not provide a definitive answer.  Why Woyzeck goes mad is less important than the fact that the community around him is thoroughly and totally indifferent to the fact that he’s obviously losing his mind.  The Captain lectures him as him as if he’s merely a teenager who needs to grow up.  The Doctor only cares about Woyzeck as a test subject.  Even Marie seems to be indifferent to his instability.

With each scene shot in one take and featuring a largely stationary camera, Woyzeck captures the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in one’s circumstances.  Woyzeck is desperate to escape both his circumstances and his madness but Herzog makes it clear that Woyzeck has nowhere to go.  He’s trapped in his life and his fate feels almost pre-ordained.  This film is dark, even by the standards of Werner Herzog,  However, it also features one of Klaus Kinski’s rare sympathetic roles.  It’s not surprising that Kinski is convincing as a madman as Kinski is often said to have been a bit mad in real life as well.  What stands out is just how good a job Kinski does at playing the rather meek and subservient side of Woyzeck.  Woyzeck features one of Klaus Kinski’s best performances.

In My Best Fiend, Herzog said (one hopes jokingly) that he was often tempted to have Kinski killed.  Woyzeck shows us why we should be happy that he didn’t.