A fantastical-poetical film essay by Werner Herzog, who concentrates visual material shot mainly in North Africa into disturbing visions of a world devoid of meaning. A history of humanity unfolds in three chapters – “Creation”, “Paradise” and “Golden Age” – a history defined by decay, destruction and failure; wrecked planes in the desert, abandoned villages and animal carcases seem like relics of an already lost civilisation. The accompanying texts, spoken by film historian Lotte Eisner, serve as a commentary on the pictorial metaphors, but do not pin down their meanings – instead expanding them to incorporate another, sometimes sceptical-ironic dimension.