Nuts and Nuttier Exhibit Captures Kinski, Herzog Relationship as Troubled, Crazed by Gary Tischler It has a grand and intriguing titleóìInsanity and Genius: Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzogîóbut the exhibition of photographs now at the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes is in truth more tantalizing than grand. Mainly, thatís because you want to see more than the 30 photographs that are on display over two floors. You want to see more of Klaus Kinski, the wrathful and obsessive German actor, and certainly more of director Werner Herzog, whose ambitions as a filmmaker seemed to match those of his most famous cause celebre, the film ìFitzcarraldo.î In the exhibition, Swiss photographer Beat Presser, who knew and worked with Herzog as of the late 1970s, documents the stormy yet remarkable relationship between the troubled, crazed German actor and the director who brought out the best, and apparently the worst, in him. ìInsanity and Geniusî also provides a jumping off point for a five-part special program on Herzog and Kinski showing at the Goethe-Forum (see Film Clips section). In addition to other films, the famous and infamous ìFitzcarraldoî will screen on July 7, followed by ìBurden of D reams,î a remarkable documentary by director Les Blank about the making of ìFitzcarraldo.î Weíre supposed to know by the order of these pictures which of the two men was insane and which was a genius. Certainly, in almost everything he did, the bony, burning-eyed Kinski fit the description of a certifiable madman, and Presserís photographsófrom the sets of ìFitzcarraldo,î ìMadame Claude,î ìCobra Verdeî and the opera ìDr. Faustîógive credence to Kinskiís nightmarish persona. Herzog, by contrast, has always at least looked sane and seems almost normal compared to Kinski. However, if you look at Herzogís films and the biographies of both men, thereís a certain computability of strangeness and outsize craziness that would make them perfect, if dangerous, partners. Herzog said as much: ìHe literally would have been ready to die with me,î the director once said of Kinski and the physical difficulties involved in the filming of ìFitzcarraldo.î ìIf I had died on the ship in the rapids, he would have sunk in the ship with me, and vice versa. But I cannot deny that there were moments, which were dangerous, when we could have killed each other.î Kinski, who died in 1991, was born into poverty, drafted into the German army during World War II, made a prisoner of war by the British, and spent some time in various mental institutions. He started out as a stage actor but soon, with his strange looks and gifts, found himself in films. Itís fairly clear that his collaborations with Herzog amounted to his best work, but he also did some wild slumming, managing to touch base with Clint Eastwood and star in a reviled, ultra-violent version of ìJack the Ripper.î But then again, this is also the man who wrote an autobiography titled ìAll I Need Is Love,î which was later withdrawn from publication for its scathing depiction of the film industry. It would appear that Kinski was no shrinking violet and probably understood himself all too well. ìI am my own God, my own jury and my own executioner,î he once said. Perhaps more to the point is another quote: ìOne should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real.î It may not be surprising, given that record, that the two men were drawn to each other. If Herzog, in the photos, looks relatively calm and normal, his biography and film history are another matter. He was born in a remote Bavarian villa, and while he did not use a telephone until his late teens, he did try to make a movie at age 17. Herzog once shared a house with Kinski in Munich. He worked in factories, as a parking attendant, and according to his own legend, as a rodeo rider. He also supposedly smuggled television sets across the Mexican border. With ìAguirre: The Wrath of God,î Herzog became internationally prominent as part of a new wave of German and European filmmakers. But he also once made a documentary called ìWerner Herzog Eats His Shoe.î Herzog rarely did anything half way. He directed the opera ìFitzcarraldoî about a man who wants to be build an opera house in a remote area in Peru and ends up hauling it over a waterfall, river and jungle in a grandiose and demonic effortóan effort paralleled by the filmmaker. Herzog had a huge, romantic vision in some of his films, but the rest are mainly about dark obsessions, although they too have a measure of romantic legend in them. And in Kinski, Herzog for a time found a dark soul mate and a relationship that made the work of both men all the better and enduring. ìInsanity and Genius: Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzogî runs through Aug. 29 at the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes, 812 7th St., NW. For more information, please call (202) 289-1200 or visit www.goethe.de/washington. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.