Short Synopsis

The film follows a hypothetical proposition: a group of astronauts are circling the earth in a spacecraft, but they cannot return, as our planet has become uninhabitable. The cause of this remains open - all-out war, outbreak of a new disease beyond control, radiation after the complete disappearance of the ozone layer, or whatever. The crew of the spacecraft has to find a more hospitable place out there in space, and releases a probe from their cargo bay, Galileo. But Galileo - after sending back very disquieting data - has to be sent on a suicide mission...

Without our knowledge we have had visitors from outer space for decades. They have come from a planet submerged in water, The Wild Blue Yonder, and their attempts to create a new community on earth have so far not met with great success. This film is narrated on-screen by one of the visitors, Brad Dourif. In words and lyrical images, he shows how our attempts to find a new home somewhere in space is doomed to failure. He explains how in the past when Earth was threatened with extinction, a manned space probe was sent to look for an alternative home in outer space. It did not succeed.
Herzog’s space fantasy uses extraordinary music and images to create an imaginary scenario that has an impassioned sub-text telling us to protect our most precious and irreplaceable possession – our planet.

Statement by Werner Herzog

'Astronauts lost in space, the secret Roswell object re-examined, an alien who tells us all about his home planet - the Wild Blue Yonder - where the atmosphere is composed of liquid helium and the sky frozen, is all part of my science-fiction fantasy.'