Where the Green Ants Dream

1984
7| 1h40m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 31 August 1984 Released
Producted By: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

The Australian Aborigines (in this film anyway) believe that this is the place where the green ants go to dream, and that if their dreams are disturbed, it will bring down disaster on us all. The Aborigines' belief is not shared by a giant mining company, which wants to tear open the soil and search for uranium.

Genre

Drama

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Director

Werner Herzog

Production Companies

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Where the Green Ants Dream Videos and Images

Where the Green Ants Dream Audience Reviews

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Rodrigo Amaro At first, "Where The Green Ants Dream" sounds like something really interesting and very intriguing. While in there, the ultimate worthy value is of its entertainment purpose, since the artistic merits of it are quite simplistic. It is what it can be and no more than that. It's a good film, and can only be that. Great doesn't fit such unnecessary project empty of ideas.The movie deals with a strange impasse between a mineral company which wants to explore an aborigine land, and the proclaimers of such land, the native who claim the company will destroy their land and will disturb the sleep and dreams of some green ants who inhabit there, and those ants contain to power to destroy the whole world, if they were to be destroyed. Trying to settle down the issue is a company man (Bruce Spence) who each day goes by seems more inclined in protecting the aborigine and their traditions. Money and other offers are made to them but they refuse all of them...until the day they see an airplane and they want it. A trade seems to be made. Only seems cause the natives don't sign any paper and still refuse the exploration of the land.That kind of subject was covered in plenty of films, and better ones. Like "Lemon Tree" where a simple tree stands on the way between the Israel/Palestine conflicts. And real life has thousands of stories like this happening, about land expropriation in exchange of profit. The more "Where the Green Ants Dream" unfolds the more it becomes unnatural, forced and devoided of any kind of necessity to exist. Why must we see this? Well, what drags most viewers to this is the name of Werner Herzog behind the credits, an important director, indeed, but very little of his greatness is present in this project. The story goes up and down, our interest goes on and off from time to time mainly because of its characters, who should be sympathetic as they are in other movies, instead they're quite annoying, simple-minded, I couldn't care about anyone in here. I couldn't be on the company side and neither on the natives side. The latter was more of a case that I felt they weren't being real, they were inventing that ants story. It baffles me why the story haven't turned into more obscure and dangerous results. No, instead we have the plane being hijacked by a native who keeps singing "My baby does the hanky panky". Herzog wasn't tasteless with this film, he just didn't make this a more vital and relevant piece to the audience. 6/10
lblarson1 I really liked this movie. I liked the respect that was offered and given by both the native demonstrators and the geologist. This film prompted thought, thought about what is valued when death approaches, whether that is seen as death of an individual or a people. The mining company stands on the foundation of its legal right to proceed with what the contemporary civilization values, and some scoff the values of the natives. But if we listen we hear that is something we all must address when asking of ourselves what is sacred and will we protect and defend that in the face of our own extinction, because clearly the law is not designed to protect the sacred, but to settle a dispute. We are an amalgam of the characters, the native voice that seeks self perpetuation of tribe and story, the company voice that works for progress and acquisition of wealth, the mediator and thinker voice that comes through the geologist, and the law which strives of order in chaos. These tensions of the human condition, are made so vivid in the land and skies of the Australian outback.
lclh I probably saw this film back in in 1984 and it still sticks to my memory. I honestly don't know if that's good or bad. What i do know is that a film still with me after almost 20 years deserve a comment. When I went out of the theater i thought to my self that this must be the worst film ever. But as time has gone by, and the film still stick I'm no longer so sure. The film was first of all my first encounter with aborigines, and it made me feel sad on their behalf. Second of all, the opening scene with native music and majestic nature, is one of the best ever made. This is not a 10, to the ordinary viewer but to me it gets close.
mifunesamurai Interesting account on the fight for land rights by the Aboriginals who are up against a mining company that do the dirty on them by disturbing the land where the green ants dream! The message comes across through this sometimes messy film.