Imagine operating a resort, and one day instead of a Yelp review, Werner Herzog drives by with his camera just to call your place of business "so godforsaken it makes you want to cry," then leaves.

My first film of TIFF 2020!

Directed by Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer, Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds is the duo's newest collaboration on the mysterious and fascinating universe of meteorites around the globe.

The directors present a most wondrous dissertation blending multiple disciplines of science, history and mythology. On camera, Cambridge University Professor Clive Oppenheimer interviews experts with wit, encompassing absurd accidents, apocalyptic scenarios, and cosmic mysteries from the US, Australia, France, Norway, India, Mexico, Antarctica, and Papua . Herzog infuses his distinct narration in Bavarian accent throughout the captivating ancient Indigenous traditions of meteors, along with modern astronomy, cave archaeology, and NASA’s Planetary Defense. It is an eye-opening awe of meteorites from outer space, from the remains of other planets and stars, from an eternity of time that has traveled very far.

TIFF20 Film #2:

This was actually my first Werner Herzog documentary and while I liked it fine enough, I do wish it was a little better. My main issue was just how unfocused a lot of this was. It didn't really have a consistent flow and just jumped all around which made some sequences a bit dull. But this film looks absolutely beautiful and Herzog's narration really helped me get more engaged. Not great but it has enough fascinating segments and beautiful camera work to get a pass from me.

TIFF 2020: Film #25

I actually REALLY enjoyed this. Partly because the topic is absolutely fascinating to me. Partly because Herzog's way of telling the story with his dramatic (and occasionally funny) narration always makes me smile, even when it gets a bit ridiculous. Partly because this made me feel oddly inspired about the world (I know, an insane thought in 2020), and reignited my desire to travel (at some point). And of course, there are some stunning visuals here.

Le genre de documentaire qu'Herzog fait les yeux fermés maintenant, et c'est un peu l'impression qu'on a. Je reste impressionné par sa capacité à rassembler des illuminés et des personnalités singulières autour de son sujet du jour (ici les météorites), et parce qu'il est encore capable, après tout ce temps, de filmer le monde comme si on ne l'avait encore jamais vu (les images de l'Antarctique sont particulièrement fascinantes).

FIREBALL: VISITORS FROM DARKER WORLDS was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I was quite enthralled when the focal point was science-based and not as interested when it was focused on mythology. Some of the subjects being interviewed or providing their perspective were more gripping (Brother Guy) than others so my interest was basically like being on a rollercoaster; some highs with some lows. Herzog is a great narrator and really made this more interesting to watch. Watch it for Herzog, some beautiful images, and to learn something new.

(TIFF20 Film #2)

TIFF 2020 #2:

I'll pretty much watch anything Werner Herzog makes. This is definitely one of his weakest documentaries, but it's still very watchable and has some cool visuals.

Loved it to start, but the ending fizzled. Seemed to be missing a conclusion. 

Gorgeous shots of our beautiful planet and I loved the tie in with how these speeding balls of fire have shaped cultures and history along with the earth itself.  The subject is fascinating. The magnified pictures are incredible.  But alas, I craved more detail and more craters.  This should really be a mini series.

Werner Herzog does his usual Herzog thing examining meteorites, the scientists who study them, and the people who live around sites of meteorite strikes. It’s a bit scattershot, but there are lovely moments throughout. My favourites are the Norwegian jazz musician who has figured out a method for collecting micrometeorites from the roof of Oslo’s Vallhall Arena, and a stunning drone shot of a line of Korean scientists on an ice plain in Antarctica searching for meteorites brought to the surface of the glacier.

In step with the Herzog/Oppenheimer travelogues to date, which is to say that it’s perfectly enjoyable from moment to moment but perhaps a bit half-baked in offering up a unifying theme. The ostensible subject is the deep impact of meteorites on evolution and cultural development this time out, and while you’re likely to learn a thing or two (even if heady science is comically elided), there’s just as much attention paid to the people met along the way. Mostly a series of passionate savants, they wax even more poetically than Herzog about the glories of the stones that they collect, study, and worship. Oppenheimer is the on-screen audience surrogate, with Herzog mostly making himself felt through his florid voiceover (e.g. “A beach resort so god forsaken you want to cry…”).

For the first time since “Into the Inferno,” Werner Herzog reteams with volcanologist and now co-director Clive Oppenheimer for the documentary “Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds.” He returns with the most 2020 subject matter possible—killer asteroids—and globe-trots from Chelyabinsk, Siberia to remote islands in the Torres Strait for an anthropological survey of how meteorites have affected not only the landscape around us, but our cultural and religious habits. [Full review available at RogerEbert.com]

Herzog le grand explorateur qui poursuit son tour du monde : après les volcans dans Into the Inferno, le voilà qui s'intéresse aux météorites, à celles et ceux qui se passionnent pour leurs composantes et leur provenance et à la signification qu'on leur accorde à travers différentes cultures. Ces férus de roches intergalactiques ouvrent toute une réflexion sur nos origines et notre place dans l'univers. De très belles images glanées aux quatre coins du globe, la narration suavement bavaroise du cinéaste, des spécimens rocheux de toutes sortes et de toutes tailles et des connaisseurs qui s'extasient devant eux, que vouloir de plus? En espérant ne pas recevoir un pavé intersidéral lors de la prochaine balade à vélo.

Desde el inicio de los tiempos, el hombre ha tenido una fascinación especial por los meteoritos. Fragmentos de cuerpos celestes provenientes del espacio que para muchas civilizaciones simbolizaban un mensaje divino. Bolas de fuego que al entrar por la atmósfera a gran velocidad iluminaban el cielo con su incandescente resplandor. En Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, el aclamado director Werner Herzog hace mancuerna con Clive Oppenheimer, académico de la Universidad de Cambridge, para embarcarse por un viaje alrededor del mundo en busca de pistas que revelen el origen de estos objetos. Una reflexión sobre los misterios que guarda el espacio exterior, y sobre el lugar que ocupamos en la inmensidad del universo.

Reseña completa en: cinesinfronteras.com/2020/09/19/resena-fireball-visitors-from-darker-worlds-tiff20/

Werner Herzog’s latest explores how alien objects have shaped human culture, science and mythology for millions and billions of years.

www.escapeintofilm.com/home/tiff-2020-film-review-fireball-visitors-from-darker-worlds-

For the first time since “Into the Inferno,” Werner Herzog reteams with volcanologist and now co-director Clive Oppenheimer for the documentary “Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds.” He returns with the most 2020 subject matter possible—killer asteroids—and globe-trots from Chelyabinsk, Siberia to remote islands in the Torres Strait for an anthropological survey of how meteorites have affected not only the landscape around us, but our cultural and religious habits. [Full review available at RogerEbert.com]

The best film Herzog has made in years. It's full of something I never thought I'd find in Werner's cinema - human warmth. Loved it.

On Lists:
TIFF 2020 - Film #40/Rank #11
Top 1000 Films of the 21st Century: Ranked #590

I don't know why I've always imagined Werner Herzog to be a very grumpy, scary man. In Fireball, it's more clear than ever that Herzog is a man with a love of life and an interest in humanity. He's like a puppy dog, looking out a car window. He makes so many films because he has this insatiable interest in everything he comes across, and it warms my heart to see the way he works with collaborators. I haven't seen Into the Inferno, but I see that his co-director on this film was a subject in that. He seems like a genuinely kind soul, and that reverberates through this movie.

Also just a very fascinating surface level look at meteorites. Really interesting to learn about all of this.

Had a blast with this one.

TIFF film #24

We are all made of stars and cosmic dust.

Some fascinating characters here, like Brother Guy. I would gladly watch more of.

Comme à chaque année, nous avons ici rendez-vous avec Herzog, le pédagogue. Cette fois-ci, il souhaite nous parler des météores. Le réalisateur, au fil des années, a peaufiné sa méthode pour tirer profit de ses sujets. Son nouveau documentaire s'inscrit donc dans un cycle concis et parfaitement logique. On pourrait lui reprocher de se répéter, mais quand l'efficacité est au rendez-vous, pourquoi se plaindre? Surtout quand il nous montre, encore une fois, des images somptueuse de l’Antarctique.

Et ça n'a pas vraiment de lien avec ce film, mais j'aimerais bien qu'Herzog lise des histoires à mon neveu...

I sat by your side, by the water
You taught me the names of the stars overhead that I wrote down in my ledger
Though all I knew of the rote universe were those pleiades loosed in December
I promised you I'd set them to verse so I'd always remember

That the meteorite is a source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee

And the meteorite's just what causes the light
And the meteor's how it's perceived
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee

Le genre de documentaire qu'Herzog fait les yeux fermés maintenant, et c'est un peu l'impression qu'on a. Je reste impressionné par sa capacité à rassembler des illuminés et des personnalités singulières autour de son sujet du jour (ici les météorites), et parce qu'il est encore capable, après tout ce temps, de filmer le monde comme si on ne l'avait encore jamais vu (les images de l'Antarctique sont particulièrement fascinantes).