`Incident at Loch Ness'

October 22, 2004|By Robert K. Elder.

"Incident at Loch Ness" advertises itself as a documentary account of famed director Werner Herzog's struggle to complete a film about the "origin and necessity" of the lake's famed monster.

Directed by Zak Penn, the first half-hour of "Loch Ness" achieves absolute magic, revealing the director's no-nonsense personal drive and a real sense of intimacy. But soon, that footage seems so funny, so perfectly captured that human foibles just start to look like bad acting. Something smells fishy, and it has nothing to do with an aquatic reptile.

If nothing else, "Incident at Loch Ness" reveals Herzog to be a convincing performer who isn't afraid to poke fun at his own legend. But Penn wants his film to be Orson Welles' "F for Fake," or Spike Jonze's "Adaptation," and instead ends up proving the only thing worse than bad reality programming is fake reality programming.

At one point, Herzog even says this was "one of those films that didn't want to be made." Given the final product, it's difficult not to agree with him.


"Incident at Loch Ness" ((star)1/2), directed by Zak Penn; stars Werner Herzog and Penn. MPAA rating: PG-13 (brief strong language). Running time: 1:34.