Where the Green Ants Dream

Where the Green Ants Dream (German: Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen) is a 1984 film directed by Werner Herzog. Based partly on the Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd case and making use of professional actors as well as Aboriginal activists who were involved in the case, it was a mix of facts and fiction. The ant mythology was claimed as Herzog's own, but some natives did consider the green ant as the totem animal that created the world and humans. Wandjuk Marika noted that the ant dreaming belief existed in a clan that lived near Oenpelli in the Northern Territory.[1] The film is set in the Australian desert and is about a land feud between a mining company called Ayers (based on Nabalco) and the native Aborigines. The Aborigines claim that an area the mining company wishes to work on is the place where green ants dream, and that disturbing them will destroy humanity. The film was entered in the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

Where the Green Ants Dream
R1 DVD release cover.
Directed byWerner Herzog
Produced byLucki Stipetic
Written byBob Ellis
Werner Herzog
StarringBruce Spence
Music byWandjuk Marika
CinematographyJörg Schmidt-Reitwein
Edited byBeate Mainka-Jellinghaus
Release date
1984
Running time
100 minutes
CountryWest Germany
LanguageEnglish

Marika, recommended to Herzog by Phillip Adams, was a leader for the Rirratjingu people, an artist and musician who was involved in activism for Aboriginal rights. His didgeridoo music is used in the movie and several members of his family were cast in the film. The contract with Herzog allowed the Marikas to make enough money to move from Yirrkala to their ancestral region of Yalanbara, Port Bradshaw.[1]

Critics of the film found it uncomfortably placed between a documentary and a feature film. Phillip Adams was particularly incensed and claimed that the film implied that the Australian Government was against the Aborigines, leading him to write an article titled "Dammit Herzog, you are a Liar!"[1][3]

Cast
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References
  1. Hurley, AW (2006) "Re-imagining Milirrpum v Nabalco in Werner Herzog's Where the Green Ants Dream. Passages: law, aesthetics, politics 2006, Australia.
  2. "Festival de Cannes: Where the Green Ants Dream". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  3. Adams, P (1984), "Dammit Herzog, You Are a Liar!", The Weekend Australian Magazine, 2–3 June, p. 2.
  4. cf. Walter Baldwin Spencer
  5. "The wrath of Herzog" by Phillip Adams, The Australian (11 June 2011)
  6. cf. Ted Strehlow
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