'Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World' A Review

Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World is a documentary about the internet, the latest offering from Werner Herzog. Through a series of interviews with internet pioneers and innovators as well as digital detractors Herzog investigates our current digital age, where it may go, and what it may cost.

From the founding of the internet in the 70's to tech mogul Elon Musk's plan to colonize Mars, from an off-the-grid radio tower in West Virginia to a recovery home for video game addiction both sides of the digital spectrum are covered. Perhaps not as engrossing as some of Herzog's previous works due to its sprawling subject matter it is still constructed with a tight framing mechanism, arresting visuals, and an eerie score which make for one hell of a compelling watch. Equal parts doom and hope Lo and Behold paints a complex picture of the effects, benefits, and collateral damage of technology. Bleak yet bemused.

Herzog isn't as present in the film as he is in some of his other documentaries but what remains is his ever vigorous curiosity. He may be somewhat detached and skeptical about much of the "positive" advancements of our digital age but he almost refrains entirely from judgement. He covers the subject almost as if its alien. At one point in response to a scientist discussing AI he says one of the only lines he has in the film "what about love?" which the scientist brushes off and Herzog lets go as if the scientist isn't worth the argument. What the film ultimately highlights is not how far we've come electronically but how universal and unshakable nature and interpersonal connection are.

A bizarre exploration of the digital world that affirms the real.

See It.