The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (aka Every Man For Himself and God Against All)

There is a man named Kaspar Hauser who can barely speak or write or even stand, because he has been locked alone in a room for his entire life, never leaving or seeing anyone other than the mysterious man who feeds him bread and water until the day he is left with a note in the middle of a town. With this film, director Werner Herzog attempts to view society from what he sees as a completely objective viewpoint. Kaspar has no knowledge of what we take for granted, and he reluctantly begins to learn to live within this new world. Herzog uses this "neutral" viewpoint to reveal how we all have been brainwashed (or something) by societal conventions and religion. The imagery is dreamlike and the performance by Bruno S. as Kaspar is eerily effective, but I would argue that it is foolish to try to view society with an objective eye -- unless you are actually a Kaspar Hauser then it is impossible to view society objectively, you can only bring your own viewpoint of what an objective society might be like. It's an interesting concept, but one that is flawed from the start.