Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski

Diabolical, half deranged, out of control, an , a genius. Characterisations by Klaus Kinski’s colleagues of one of the most delirious actors that ever adorned the silver screen. Particularly director Werner Herzog, himself an obsessive artist, collaborated closely with Kinski. That close even that they, the legend has it, seriously intended to kill each other. In the beginning of the documentary, we see Kinski at a gathering of worshippers, proclaiming himself the new Jesus in an unparalleled flood of abuse. It turns out to be one of his numerous diatribes. During the shooting of Herzog’s AGUIRRE, DER ZORN GOTTES, Kinski would abruptly change into a furious devil, because he did not like the taste of his sandwich. Kinski was completely unmanageable, but at the same time cut out for the roles in Herzog’s films: as a cruel conquistador in AGUIRRE, a megalomaniac opera builder in FITZCARRALDO, and a supreme ogre in NOSFERATU, PHANTOM DER NACHT. Herzog talks hatefully and lovingly about Kinski, his best fiend, who was engrossed in himself every second of the day. For example, Kinski liked to see himself as a ‘natural man’, but during shoots in the jungle, he ventured into the forest only once, and in that very short time he had his picture taken countless times to keep up appearances. In many cases, the spectator does not know whether MEIN LIEBSTER FEIND is mythologising the relationship between actor and director. Herzog does admit that he has personally made up some of the terms of abuse that Kinski fires at him in his autobiography. Kinski passed away in 1991, ‘worn out by himself’, according to Herzog.