A mute, mentally incapacitated man is chained up inside a barn in the German countryside and tended to by an elderly man for a number of years until one day he is toted to the nearest town and left stranded. Shortly, the townspeople become fascinated by their latest resident as he becomes a member of the local circus, a subject for scientists and intellectuals, and soon a member of high society. Werner Herzog's The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser is a strange, haunting, though not always enthralling parable with a fantastic, outlandish performance from Bruno S. The ending is extraordinary.
*** 1/2 out of ****
