Herzog’s Reveries of the Connected World examines the good and the bad of the internet

Does the internet dream of itself? Werner Herzog’s 2016 documentary Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World (watch, runtime: 01:38:03) is a meditative exploration of the internet’s transformative powers, both the good and the bad. Beginning with the birth of the web in 1969, the documentary weaves its way through 10 chapters covering everything from artificial intelligence and space exploration to the toxic world of online trolling and the tragedies of internet addiction. The format makes for a nonlinear experience and allows Herzog to cover a lot of ground, albeit in not quite as much detail as some might like. Nonetheless, Reveries is cerebral filmmaking, provoking wonderment and anxiety in equal measure.