Werner Herzog Chases His White Whale in “Ghost Elephants”
This review was originally posted on Film Obsessive.
German director Werner Herzog is perhaps known for his voice as much as his filmography. He’s played fictionalized versions of himself, or a generic documentarian, in film and TV shows like Parks and Recreation, Penguins of Madagascar, The Simpsons, and more. Even if you can’t name a Herzog film, you can imagine his voice. It’s been three years since that voice has graced the narration track of a documentary, and what a joy it is to hear Herzog’s timbre in the upcoming release, Ghost Elephants. The film had its premiere at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival and has since been acquired by National Geographic. It’s your typical Herzog fare in the best possible way, part chronicle of a Moby Dick-esque quest, part rumination on humanity’s very essence.
Steve Boyes is a South African naturalist whose life has been spent on conservation initiatives in the African wilderness. His focus has turned to African elephants that live on the highland of Angola. Boyes believes there is an entirely undiscovered species of African elephant hidden in these highlands that could distantly be related to Henry, the 11-ton elephant that stands tall in the rotunda of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Boyes, along with Xui, Xui Dawid, and Kobus, three KhoiSan master trackers from Angola, sets out to see if these ghost elephants are real.
Credit: Ariel Leon Isacovitch
Boyes admits that this is his white whale, one he’s not even entirely sure exists. Unlike Captain Ahab, who had seen Moby Dick, Boyes is basing his assumptions on an almost spiritual connection. An unshakeable belief that there’s something more out there. Ghost Elephants is a hunt, but not one that is brutal in nature. Rather, it’s a hunt that is wholly for documentation and awe. Appreciation rather than annihilation.
But how does one make a film about something that cannot be seen? Therein lies the predicament for Herzog. It’s probably an exciting challenge for a veteran documentarian to rise to, but it becomes obvious early on that while there may not be any immediate tangible evidence of these elephants, there are ripples of their existence that are unavoidable. No matter where we are, our lives are wholly interconnected and, try as we might to ignore it, our actions have consequences. To wreak havoc on animals or an environment like the one in the film is to irrevocably change the course of the future.
Credit: Skellig Rock, Inc/Roger Horrocks
The past, though, is what will always remain. Herzog’s narration is lyrical and gentle. He has a genuine interest in this quest for these elephants and what it means for humans as a grander concept. We’ve spent hundreds of years bending the earth to our every whim, bleeding it dry for economic gain with little interest in finding a way to live in harmony with this planet. Ghost Elephants takes a spiritual, emotional approach to conservation. Herzog dedicates as much of the film to this scientific pursuit as he does to documenting the lives of those who live in Angola and the surrounding region. We see them dance and reenact previous hunts, a sign of great appreciation in their culture. These images are mirrored by stunning sequences of elephants Herzog and his crew have managed to capture. There’s an underwater sequence with bright, twinkling midday sun as an elephant’s foot moves through the body of water. It’s staggering in its immensity and its simplicity. Earth, and its entire existence, has been filled with moments like this that are rarely captured by a camera.
That raises the interesting question at the heart of Ghost Elephants. Do we have to see something to be able to comprehend its importance? Does it matter if Boyes and the rest of the team are successful at the end of the documentary? Is the pursuit not enough? Ghost Elephants is guided by a gentle, determined voiceover by Herzog. A beautiful reminder that life can still have moments of discovery, both within ourselves and out in the sprawling expanse of nature.
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