EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AND GOD AGAINST ALL.

In 1828, a young man called Kaspar Hauser (Bruno S.) appears in Nuremberg, barely able to speak or walk after having been held prisoner all his life; he becomes an object of curiosity.

The real-life mystery of what happened to Hauser has haunted generations since the early 19th century and Werner Herzog identified with this figure, seemingly unable to understand or behave according to the rules of contemporary civilization.

Bruno S. is stunt casting at its boldest – an overaged street musician with mental issues of his own, playing a teenager. He becomes one with his character in this intriguing satire of societal elites and xenophobia.

1974-West Germany. 109 min. Color. Written and directed by Werner Herzog. Cast: Bruno S. (Kaspar Hauser), Walter Ladengast (Georg Friedrich Daumer), Brigitte Mira (Mrs. Käthe), Willy Semmelrogge, Herbert Fritsch, Michael Kroecher.

Trivia: Original title: Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle. The story was also told in Kaspar Hauser (1993).

Cannes: Grand Prize of the Jury.

Last word: “Without the mutual trust quickly established between the two of us I would not have stood a chance. I would hold his wrist a lot; with Bruno there was always physical contact. Not his hand, just his wrist, as if I had my fingers on his pulse. He kind of liked that. Sometimes he was very unruly and would rant about the injustices of the world. All I could do when this happened was to stop everyone and allow him to say whatever he wanted to say. I got quite angry with a sound man who, after an hour of this ranting, opened a magazine and started to read. I said to him, ‘You are being paid now to listen to Bruno. All of us will listen to him.’” (Herzog, “Herzog on Herzog”)