Allowing for the poetic expressions he has chosen, I basically agree with him. The world is a nasty, brutal place. Plants and animals are in a constant struggle for survival, with losers often dying painful and gruesome deaths. And everyone loses eventually.

So, was it Fitzcarraldo that he was filming at the time?

Herzog is one of the greatest living directors.

Right Fitzcarraldo. The clip is from the docu "The Burden of Dreams" about the making of Fitzcarraldo. I prefer Herzog's docus e.g. Grizzly Man, Ecounters at the End of the World but then I generally prefer nonfiction. Herzog rules!!!

Grizzly Man is a great film, though my favorite Herzog film (of the ones I have seen) is Little Dieter Needs to Fly. I have not seen Encounters at the End of the World. I agree that his documentaries are generally better than his fiction films, but I have always found all of his films (that I have seen) interesting and worth watching.

Herzog is also interesting when he speaks of his films (if you ever get a chance to see him introduce one of his films, you should do so), and his commentary tracks on his fiction films are interesting, unlike most commentary tracks on most DVDs. On those occasions when I start the commentary tracks on typical films, I am generally forcibly struck by the stupidity of the people making ordinary films, and I generally stop them in short order. Herzog is quite a contrast to such people.

We all love against our better judgement, and harmony is a notion we use to punish nature...There is a logic to it all, but as with many things in nature, it is a logic we must find, and cannot impose...