Burden of Dreams review – on-location account of Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo is a gruelling delight

In 1982, filmmaker Les Blank produced *Fitzcarraldo*, a haunting account of Werner Herzog’s extraordinary journey building an opera house in the remote Peruvian jungle. Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, inspired by his love of opera, transformed a rubber business into a passion to realize his dream—a grandiose project requiring Indigenous labor and disfiguring struggles for the crew. Despite the arduous conditions, Herzog captured the raw, vivid essence of this bizarre odyssey in a silent film that remains a testament to his visionary spirit. The documentary offers a somber yet intimate glimpse into Herzog’s relentless pursuit and its aftermath.