''Precautions Against Fanatics'' (german: Massnahmen gegen Fanatiker) is a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

filmed at a

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

track near

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. It was Herzog's first film shot in color. The film features several horse trainers and other track workers talking about their roles at the track, always eventually interrupted by an older man who claims to be the true authority, and demands that they be thrown out. One recurring young man, the first to appear, claims that he protects the horses from enthusiastic racing fans. He does not appear to be employed by the track, but seems to provide his services voluntarily. His protection from "fanatics" gives the film its title. Also featured is a man who trains the horses by walking them around a tree for 36 hours at a time, and a man whose job is " doping" the horses with

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

before races. The film ends with the young man who protects against fanatics seated at a zoo. He says that the track officials asked him to leave, and now he protects the zoo's flamingos from fanatics. The film is shot in a documentary style, but the sheer implausibility of the dialogue leaves the exact nature of the film ambiguous. The director states that the film is intended to be humorous, and Herzog's official website describes the film as an "Elaborate on-camera practical joke."Werner Herzog.com
official film description

References

External links

* 1969 films 1960s avant-garde and experimental films German avant-garde and experimental films West German films 1960s German-language films German short films 1960s German films {{1960s-Germany-film-stub