Home > Opinion > Meanwhile

Herzog's walk mirrors Schubert's themes

Published: 05 Jan. 2025, 20:00

Na Sung-in
The author is a music critic and director of classic music brand Poongwoldang.

The phrase “Winter Traveler” is far from romantic. Whether in Schubert’s time or today, those who travel on foot in winter encounter the same bleak scenery — relentless cold, blizzards, frostbite, disorientation and inevitable falls. In an age where modern transportation forms an intricate web of convenience, why would anyone choose to journey by foot? Yet half a century ago, someone embodied Schubert’s “Winterreise” with a modern twist: the German filmmaker Werner Herzog.

Upon hearing that Lotte Eisner, a matriarch of German cinema, was gravely ill, Herzog resolved to walk from Munich to Paris to see her. His singular conviction? That he could not “allow” her to die. This fragile hope became the fuel for his journey — a hope as tenuous as it was resolute, bordering on superstition. Yet, that very conviction, as thin as a piece of paper, steeled his determination.

Setting out from Munich on Nov. 23, 1974, Herzog arrived in Paris three weeks later, on Dec. 14. His travelogue from this period brims with scenes that seem to transpose Wilhelm Müller and Schubert’s “Winterreise” into modern times. What did Herzog’s walk signify? Was it an act of fervor, born from his refusal to passively watch a life teeter on the brink of death? Or was it a desire to share, however slightly, in Eisner’s suffering?

Herzog walked through ice, and Lotte Eisner lived to welcome him. Through this story, Herzog imparted a profound lesson: Hope is powerful, and baseless hope can be the most potent of all. Perhaps the young Schubert and his “Winterreise ” protagonist also clung to the improbable hope that their anguish might someday transform into song. Whether 200 years ago or today, winter remains the same. Yet there are always those who persevere, carrying hope, even through the ice. Schubert’s “Winterreise” and Herzog’s travelogue, “Of walking in Ice,” stand as music and testimony for all dreamers traversing the winter of their lives.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.