Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard earns standing ovation at Venice Film Festival

On the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival, Rooney and Kate Mara appeared as glamorous counterparts in contrasting black gowns—one a dramatic balloon dress, the other a plunging glitzy number. But the image of these polished stars stands in stark contrast to the 1980s reality of the women who inspired their roles: Greta and Freda Chaplin, identical twins from York, England, who were jailed for one month after being prosecuted at York Magistrates' Court for breaching the peace by harassing a local truck driver.

The Chaplin sisters were a tabloid fascination, renowned for dressing identically and speaking in total unison. In a bizarre courtroom moment, the twins simultaneously uttered the phrase bucking fastard—a verbal slip that gave Werner Herzog's new surreal drama its title. The film premiered on Thursday, September 3, 2026, earning a 6.5-minute standing ovation, though the reception reflects a divide between the audience's enthusiasm and critical assessment of the narrative.

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The 83-year-old German filmmaker first met the Chaplin sisters some 45 years ago, but the project lay dormant for decades. Herzog noted the idea was constrained by the limitations of reality until producer Jeremy Thomas suggested casting the Mara sisters. Once that possibility emerged, Herzog wrote the screenplay in five days, though he describes the resulting story as complete invention.

The film follows Jean and Joan Holbrooke (played by Kate and Rooney Mara), sisters who speak, think, and move in unison. The plot begins as a courtroom drama, with the sisters as defendants in a hearing where their former lover, Gareth Mulroney, has filed for a restraining order. According to a review from Yahoo UK, the movie later shifts from this courtroom setting to the city, and eventually to the West coast of Ireland. There, the sisters become consumed by a Sisyphian project for years, chipping away at a rock face to extend an underground tunnel that locals believed connected to the Orkney Islands.

The technical requirement for the Maras to speak in unison presented a daunting challenge that Herzog handled with surprising brevity. While he had planned a two-week rehearsal, he cut it short after five days, telling the sisters he would meet them in Ireland in front of my camera. Rooney Mara described the process as very musical, attributing the natural chemistry to a lifetime together and a shared childhood.

Orlando Bloom, who plays the object of the sisters' joint affection, was cast specifically to move away from his reputation as the heartthrob for the teenies. The production process was marked by Herzog's efficiency, which occasionally clashed with Bloom's expectations. During a press conference, Herzog revealed that Bloom was initially upset after the director captured a major witness-stand scene in a single take. Herzog apologized for being too fast and performed three additional takes, though he maintained that his approach is like open heart surgery, going to the essentials right away.

Despite the standing ovation and Bloom's description of the set as a sacred space, the film's structural coherence has been questioned. Yahoo UK dismissed the tale as nutty but thin, arguing that the narrative frays beyond repair and that Herzog is more interested in the quirk factor than perceptive exploration of sibling connections.

The film's journey to Venice was an intentional choice. Herzog had initially been invited to Cannes but declined the invitation because he was not offered a competition slot. He instead accepted a spot in the Venice competition, returning to the Lido just one year after receiving the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Herzog dedicated the work to the late David Lynch. The director expressed regret that Lynch could not be the first audience to see the film, noting that while their styles were different, they shared a deep, deep understanding of each other’s work.

The production’s focus on physical and psychological symbiosis is summarized by the contrasting realities of its inspirations:

As the film competes for the Golden Lion at Venice, its trajectory toward a wider audience remains uncertain, as no U.S. Release date has been announced.