I recently saw "... eats his shoe" and FATA MORGANA at a museum. Then, I bought the masterful LESSONS OF DARKNESS/FATA double dvd. Herzog says something in the commentary that affected my reading of his films.

"In my films you can sense a certain subtext of something religious. It dates back to an extremely and dramatic religious phase I had when I was 15. I converted to become a catholic against all odds and,in particular,against my entire family. They were militant atheists. It put enormous stress on me. I needed to have great inner strength to battle it through no matter what. Faith was more important than having the harmony in my family maintained. It is faith that moves mountains."

It's interesting that Herzog's films have such an impact on me, one who at 15 moved away from catholicism, towards logic and reason.