“Money lost, film gained” – Werner Herzog

In the early days I made a living, but only just. I lived with very few possessions, most of which were the tools of my trade: an Arriflex camera, a car, a typewriter, a flatbed editing machine, a Nagra tape recorder. My material needs have always been limited. So long as I have a roof over my head, something to read and something to eat, all is fine. I own one pair of shoes, a single suit, and once I finish a book I pass it on to a friend. I’m just a man from the mountains who isn’t very interested in owning things.

What makes Herzog rich?

What makes me rich is that I’m welcomed almost everywhere. I can show up with my films and am offered hospitality, something you could never achieve on money alone.

And the struggle for true liberty:

I have struggled harder than you can imagine for true liberty, and today am privileged in the way a boss of a huge corporation ever will be. Hardly anyone in my profession is as free as I am.

You can open any page of A Guide for the Perplexed and unearth a gem.

Cronin, Paul. Werner Herzog – A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Faber & Faber, 2020. pp246