That '70s Drift: Adrift

STROSZEK (1977) (A) - A marvel from Werner Herzog, using a mostly amateur cast of actors to tell the story of a damaged Berlin man seeking comfort in the heartland of America, where he finds a harsh capitalist reality instead.

Bruno Stroszek (musician Bruno S) rescues battered prostitute Eva (Eva Mattes) and takes her with as he follows an old neighbor to rural Wisconsin, where he works as a truck mechanic and she as a truck-stop waitress. But her old ways return, and they struggle to keep up with payments on their mobile home and console television.

Herzog ("Cave of Forgotten Dreams," "Fitzcarraldo" and the execrable "Grizzly Man") betrays his documentary leanings and crafts a classic mid-'70s road feature, complete with wistful shots through windshields. Bruno S and Mattes are heartbreaking, and the characters surrounding them (leftovers from a "Green Acres" era of America) add depth as well as comedic relief. The ending features a compelling 10-minute sequence that may be unparalleled in film history -- stunning on a par with the ending of "Five Easy Pieces" or any other film I can think of.

THE SCAR (1976) (B-minus) - The first full-length narrative big-screen feature from Krzysztof Kieslowski is a minor effort that has some of the elements that would make him a master.  However this tale of a bureaucratic functionary trying to bring heart to the task of building a chemical factory in a small town (his hometown) never quite gels as a compelling drama.

The narrative inches along slowly. Like Herzog above, Kieslowski had extensive experience in the documentary world, and it seems here like he's trying to shake off that training and switch gears. Franciszek Pieczka brings a soulfulness to Stefan, the apparatchik who balances the needs of the residents of the rundown town with his duties as a cog in Poland's machine. Some lingering scenes of life behind the curtain can be moving. But it would be another decade before Kieslowski found his groove as a master storyteller who would go on to bring us "Blind Chance," "The Double Life of Veronique," "The Dekalog" and the three-colors trilogy "Blue," "White" and "Red."