Lektionen in Finsternis (Apocalypse in the Desert) is one of Werner Herzog’s most developed and ambitious documentaries from a metalinguistic perspective. Presented at the 1992 Berlin Film Festival, the film showcased images of the concurrent Gulf War, adopting a particularly aerial and disorienting perspective. Herzog focuses on the oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops. The voice-overs take on an almost alien perspective over the images that unfold across the film’s 50-minute runtime, completely devoid of rhetoric, whether militaristic or pacifist. It is as if detached extraterrestrial observers were scrutinizing the misfortunes of humanity.

The screening is part of the program Werner Herzog and the four natural elements, which accompanies the exhibition Il Nostro Tempo, CinéFondationCartier.