Thomaston Public Library Hosts Saltwater Film Society Screening of Burden of Dreams, Thursday, February 19th, 6:30 PM

Thomaston, Maine - This month's Saltwater Film Society selection is Burden of Dreams, a 1982 documentary about the making of Werner Herzog's epic film Fitzcarraldo. Directed by Les Blank, the film follows Herzog as he casts Jason Robards and Mick Jagger as the main characters of his movie. Well into filming, the two are required to bow out early, Robards for health reasons and Jagger due to filming delays and the press of other commitments. Undeterred, Herzog decides to keep going using substitute actors, including Klaus Kinski.

Tribal fighting and violent weather add to the chaos at the film site, in the Amazonian rainforests of Peru, but these pale in comparison with Herzog's physical demands on the set.

When asked why he refuses to halt the project, Herzog explains that he does not want to be a man without dreams, adding that he would end his life if his dreams were abandoned. Burden of Dreams is very highly rated on rottentomatoes.com and has been described as "remarkably candid."

The film will be shown in Room 200 of the Thomaston Academy Building.

For more information about the Saltwater Film Society, please see their website, http://www.saltwaterfilmsociety.org/.