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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you have ten minutes and want to see some very intense people climbing rocks for almost no reason, this is worth a look. It is mostly for folks who like those old silent mountain movies where everyone looks like they are five seconds away from falling. You will probably hate it if you need a story that makes sense or if you think Wildgoat is a silly name for a girl.
The whole thing starts when a guy sees a girl with her goats and just asks for a kiss. Bold move. She tells him he can have one if he catches her, and then she just... bolts up a mountain.
Luis Trenker is the guy, and he looks so serious about this chase. It is like his entire life depends on getting that kiss from a stranger.
There is a shot where the goats are just staring at them while they scramble over rocks. It looks a little fake, but it is charming in a weird way. Leni Riefenstahl is the girl, and she is basically a mountain goat herself in this one.
The funniest part is when he finally gets to the top of a peak and realizes he climbed the wrong one. You can see the look on his face, just pure defeat while she is waving at him from the next rock over.
It reminds me a bit of the energy in Tempest Cody Rides Wild, but with more verticality. The rocks look sharp, like, really sharp. I kept thinking about how much their hands must have hurt after filming this.
Eventually, the guy just gives up. He walks away and she goes back to her goats like nothing even happened. It is a very strange, very short little slice of history. 😶
I wonder if they actually talked after the cameras stopped or if they just went home. If you liked the vibe here, you might also dig Der neueste Stern vom Variété, though it is a different kind of showmanship.
Anyway, it is a bit of a laugh. Not a masterpiece, but definitely not boring for its short runtime.