The story of Kaspar Hauser, the German 'wild child' who grew up for 16 years in silence and virtually in the dark in a stable with only a wooden horse as company, remains fascinating, also for filmmakers. Werner Herzog did a film on him in 1974. In The Fifth Gospel of Kaspar Hauser, mostly shot in atmospheric black-and-white on 16mm, we see impressions of his life and ‘civilising process’.
On one side there is ubiquitous nature, a world without language, and on the other we see him in the company of several archetypes: a masked, sadomasochistic dwarf; a vamp-like girl; a seaman and a man in a Batman suit (played by the director, Alberto Gracia).
The soundtrack also has a constant tension between the peaceful sounds of nature and ominous music. Gracia divides his ‘gospel’ of Kaspar Hauser into seven chapters. The sixth is an absurdist intermezzo with the archetypal characters' dialogues in inter-titles.
- Director
- Alberto Gracia
- Premiere
- World premiere
- Country of production
- Spain
- Year
- 2013
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2013
- Length
- 61'
- Medium
- DCP
- Original title
- O quinto evanxeo de Gaspar Hauser
- Languages
- Galician, Spanish
- Producers
- Oliver Laxe, Felipe Lage
- Production Company
- Zeitun Films
- Sales
- Zeitun Films
- Screenplay
- Alberto Gracia
- Cinematography
- Mauro Herce
- Editor
- Diana Toucedo, Alberto Gracia
- Production Design
- Oliver Laxe
- Sound Design
- Alberto Gracia, Enrico Fiocco
- Cast
- Alberto Gracia, Oliver Laxe