The true story of Kaspar Hauser is enveloped in mystery. The teenager turned up in Nuremberg’s city centre in 1828. He had been locked up in a darkened room for years, had been neglected and could hardly talk. No agreement has ever been reached on whether Hauser, who died in 1833, was murdered or committed suicide nor has his true heritage (royal, according to some) ever been uncovered. However mysterious the real Hauser might be, Davide Manuli’s film The legend of Kaspar Hauser is a personal poetical and surreal update of Hauser’s unsolved mystery. “Hauser’s story has fascinated me for over twenty years,” says Manuli, “but not for its actual meaning. Werner Herzog also once made a film about Hauser. In my opinion it is one of his worst because he literally just tells the story. That means nothing to me. I am more interested in the spiritual, religious and esoteric implications.” In Manuli’s surreal post-western, Kaspar washes up on a Mediterranean beach of an almost uninhabited island where they try to turn him into a club DJ. On the island, he is found and received as the messiah by The Sheriff who is also a DJ. The Duchess, who rules the tiny community, feels threatened by the blond boy and sends The Pusher to fix things.
Author : Federica Mascagni
