Stroszek

Herzog initially planned to reunite with Bruno S. to film Bückner’s Woyzeck, but, as planning progressed, decided that the part was better suited to Klaus Kinski. To make amends to the actor, who was crushed when told, the director wrote Stroszek specifically for him.

It focuses on Bruno (Bruno S.), a Berlin street performer, who, after a series of humiliations, moves with unhappy prostitute Eva (Eva Mattes) and eccentric neighbour Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz) to Wisconsin in search of the American Dream. Unsurprisingly, things do not quite work out as planned; the trio lack anything in common, and a source of income, and so their new lives fall apart. After Eva leaves for Vancouver in yet another attempt to start fresh, Bruno and Scheitz’s poor decisions become even worse in what may be seen as a satire or black comedy of American and German society.