Venice Review: Ghost Elephants is the Manifestation of Werner Herzog's Longing

      Werner Herzog’s Ghost Elephants opens with the National Geographic logo before we even hear the filmmaker's distinctive voice. While production credits usually go unnoticed, this one may catch the viewer's attention by suggesting a specific documentary style—often described as “mainstream” or simply: formulaic and easy to consume—contrasting with Herzog’s mystical tendencies. Although Herzog is committed to exploring the most abstract and obscure aspects of life, nature, and history, he has successfully secured funding from organizations like French ARTE, BBC, and the History Channel to share the stories that intrigue him. His documentaries are fundamentally driven by a pure fascination with people's dreams and ambitions—in this case, embodied by National Geographic explorer and wildlife researcher Dr. Steve Boyes.

      In a close-up filled with wonder, Boyes looks at a taxidermied elephant in the Smithsonian museum. The hollow replica of the Fénykövi Elephant, the largest land animal ever documented, looms over him, serving as a reminder of its demise. Later, the film presents archival footage belonging to Hungarian Josef J. Fénykövi, who hunted the elephant in 1955, alongside a haunting photograph of him beaming next to the fallen “game.” Rather than outright denouncing the act, Herzog highlights the potential connection between Fénykövi (primarily a businessman) and today’s wildlife scientists, showing how preservation and modern DNA research might unravel deeper mysteries. Do ghost elephants exist? Are there any descendants of this 11-ton creature affectionately named Henry in the museum?

      Early in the film, Herzog mentions that ghost elephants might represent for Boyes what the white whale signifies for Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick, with Boyes agreeing. He points out that those bull elephants exhibit morphological differences from others in Africa, noting their long legs and height while using vivid language to illustrate not just the mythical animals but also their native Angolan wetland plateau called “Land at the End of the Earth.” In Boyes' description, witnessing the place is akin to “living in a dream you’ve never had,” prompting Herzog to respond with a rhetorical question of similar depth: Is the future of all animals destined to exist in a dream?

      Herzog’s narration envelops Ghost Elephants like a storyteller’s cloak, recounting both the work preserved in the Smithsonian’s vaults and Dr. Boyes’ expedition to the Angolan highlands. The journey begins in Namibia, home to the few remaining master Bushmen trackers—revered by Herzog as the last people capable of identifying individual bull elephants. In fact, over half the film is devoted to preparation for this trip, with the camera capturing interviews, personal tales, and community rituals that hold sacred significance. Herzog clearly holds his subjects in high regard, with palpable affection in his voiceover, yet he also manages to inject a playful tone: “I know I shouldn’t romanticize this,” he muses while showing an elderly tribal musician playing his instrument against a desert backdrop with a few hens nearby, “but right now, surrounded by chickens, I can't help but feel it can't get any better than this.” This self-aware narration may become a new favorite of mine.

      Ghost Elephants deviates from typical NatGeo aesthetics on several occasions, primarily through the use of low-angle shots and wide lenses to frame Boyes and his trackers, along with persistent close-ups and a resonant, dramatic score. There’s little nostalgia, despite the themes of dreams and imagination, or in other words: what is gained if a dream were to materialize. In this regard, Ghost Elephants resembles a NatGeo documentary more than a work by Herzog: it is firmly anchored in the present, with the expedition’s primary goal being to retrieve DNA samples from living bull elephants and trace their lineage. Yet, a sense of yearning lingers: visible in Boyes' striking blue eyes and somewhat distant expression, in Herzog’s admiring voice, and in a ghostly smartphone video of what could be the largest living land animal today—glimpses of hope found in the most unexpected places.

      Ghost Elephants made its debut at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.