WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM
“Where the Green Ants Dream” centers on a geologist’s efforts to make an Aboriginal desert area of Australia. The mining company he works for has run into issues with the local tribe. They believe that if a sect of green ants near the land are disturbed the world will end. In fact, their dreaming is the only thing keeping reality afloat. Over time, the mining company builds a runway and sends in a plane. The ending is ambiguous and it feels like a legit part of the Australian New Wave. Hell, Peter Weir should be jealous that he didn’t make it.
The film comes with a commentary track and a trailer as the special features. The idea of the noble savage gets toyed with, but Herzog abandons it. If anything, this is a film about the power of the imagination. Herzog won’t abandon such flights of fancy due to his belief that the Aborigines aren’t in the wrong. Still, Herzog won’t go so far as to call the Miners wrong either.