Tells the story of a triple homicide that occurred ten years ago in Conroe, Texas, when a plan by two teenagers—Michael James Perry and Jason Burkett—to steal a red Chevy Camaro went horribly awry. Perry and Burkett were both convicted, and Perry was
executed eight days after Herzog interviewed him. Though Herzog never says whether they committed the crimes, the evidence presented strongly points to their guilt. Innocence and guilt, however, is a secondary issue for Herzog when considering the morality of capital punishment. “A State should not be allowed – under any circumstance – to execute anyone for any reason,” he says. “End of story.”
Yet Herzog’s film is not a polemic, nor what he disparagingly refers to as an “issue film.” It’s about the impact of violent crime—whether carried out by Perry and Burkett or the state—on the perpetrators, the victims’ families, the broader community and the criminal justice system. The film is more understated than many of Herzog’s past films—using sparse written narration instead of the typically dramatic Herzogian voiceovers—and imbued with empathy for all of the different characters. You’re left with the sense that the murders were horrific, but so too is the death penalty as a form of punishment.
Ai, diseñador del Nido de Pájaros, como se conoce la cúpula del estadio olímpico pequinés concebido por el equipo de arquitectos suizos Herzog & De Meuron,