"He always seems to know where to look," Roger Ebert wrote of what Werner Herzog does in "Into the Abyss." The film is the German director's evenhanded, understated and powerful examination of a senseless triple murder in Texas, which sent one man to death row and another to life in prison.
"Into the Abyss" is made up mostly of one-on-one interviews that Herzog conducted with the two convicted killers, Michael Perry and Jason Burkett, along with their friends and family, family members of the murder victims, and others involved in Texas' death row.
The film, which opened in limited release on Friday, never says that Herzog is against the death penalty (which he is), but it paints a devastating picture of cycles of violence and wasted lives on both side of the prison bars.
Note: Herzog's last answer (after I note that the two killers he interviews are dramatically different) contains a detail that might conceivably be considered a spoiler, if you haven't seen the film and aren't familiar with the story it chronicles.
Also read: Werner Herzog's New 'Into the Abyss' Poster: First Look
I understand that this isn't the only film you're doing about death row.
Well, "Into the Abyss" is a whole tapestry, and only part of it is about death row. It's very much about life. I have also filmed some death row inmates for a series of one-hour films for television, which will be called "Death Row." That's very much focused on one person on death row, and no big tapestry of people around it, members of the families of victims, and whatever.
So somehow like an aftershock in an earthquake, you still have some tremors. There will be some more death row films.
What drew you to the story?
I think it was my sense as a storyteller. When something comes across, you know immediately this is big and you better go for it. And in this case, what was so mind-boggling was the senselessness of the crime. I mean, it can't get any more senseless.
And of course what actually also emerged is the sense of life. How can we lead a decent life with a cohesion of small families that stick together and give a sense of values to the kids, pass something on and take care of each other? Which was absent with both of the perpetrators.
We do not know how we are going to die and when we are going to die. And all of a sudden you are confronted with someone who knows exactly every step of the protocol, and who knows exactly what minute and what day he's going to die.
Unlike many of your documentaries, where you're the narrator, you don't do voiceovers in this film. And yet your voice is a key part of the movie, because we hear you asking questions of all the people who are interviewed.
