Herzog described this as a 'report' rather than a documentary and I'm inclined to agree. It's a short film that explores the working lives of flying doctors who work with rural tribes in Kenya, struggling to deal with the ignorance and superstition that prohibits their effective work. As usual with the director, here's a film that refuses to take sides or criticise ignorance; there's none of that "white saviour" myth here, just an intriguing and little-known situation well described.
Common themes of the director's work are present and correct: the doctors visit an incredibly primitive village which consists of straw huts dotted along the edge of a lake, so it's man vs. nature again. The shadow of death hangs over the production with some extremely grim and upsetting scenes, but there's also humour here, as when the natives refuse to climb steps because they've never seen them. As a whole it's thoroughly informative and educational.
Common themes of the director's work are present and correct: the doctors visit an incredibly primitive village which consists of straw huts dotted along the edge of a lake, so it's man vs. nature again. The shadow of death hangs over the production with some extremely grim and upsetting scenes, but there's also humour here, as when the natives refuse to climb steps because they've never seen them. As a whole it's thoroughly informative and educational.