A fresh and candid glimpse of one of the great masters of cinema at work, by his longtime friend (of more than 25 years) and collaborator (on 10 films) Herbert Golder, BALLAD OF A RIGHTEOUS MERCHANT chronicles Werner Herzog’s making of the feature film, MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE (co-written by Golder), which was nominated for a GOLDEN LION and for Best Screenplay at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, and which stars Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, and Chloe Sevigny.

MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE was inspired by the true story of an actor who committed in reality the crime he was supposed to enact on stage in a production of an ancient Greek play: he murdered his mother. BALLAD OF A RIGHTEOUS MERCHANT explores the process through which this true story, for which an ancient myth was the catalyst, is transformed back into a fiction—that is, into a Werner Herzog film.

Unlike other documentaries which have been made about Herzog, in which he stares almost defiantly into the camera and, in his inimitable way and in his famous voice, articulates his views on life, this film shows a side of him known only to his friends and close collaborators. Although refreshingly candid and surprisingly revealing, this portrait in no way diminishes Herzog's mystique—quite the contrary—but it does deepen our appreciation of his humanity, and offers, through Golder’s running commentary—as much an ongoing conversation with Herzog as a conversation with the viewer—an insider's insight into his craft. Even as we come closer to knowing Herzog more intimately in this film, we also become increasingly aware of his privacy and the deep solitude that in some essential way defines him. Herzog's idea that film should be, not analysis, but an 'agitation of the mind,' informs the telling of the story that unfolds here. Not without its moments of humor and warmth, BALLAD OF A RIGHTEOUS MERCHANT nonetheless manages to explore, through what we see brought into focus on screen and through Golder’s voiceover narration, some of the most abiding and deepest themes of Herzog’s films.