Aguirre furore di Dio

My expectations going in to this film were pretty high given its critical acclaim and reputation. Grizzly Man is the only other Herzog film I have seen and it happens to be my current favorite documentary of all time, so needless to say I was quite excited to see another film by him. And I'm happy to report that, although on a first viewing I didn't love it to quite the same degree as Grizzly Man, Aguirre: The Wrath of God definitely did not disappoint.

I was quite interested to see what Herzog's style would be like as a filmmaker working with his own script and actors rather than as a documentarian. Based only on this film, he definitely seems to have a very deliberate, methodical air to his direction. The entire film is very even-toned and it slides along at a steady pace that feels neither fast nor slow. There is definitely an emotional coldness to the film that feels almost Kubrickian. None of the characters are very relatable or likable; quite the contrary in fact - they are consumed by greed, selfishness and delusions of grandeur, our "hero" in particular. Thus, there is an emotional distance between the audience and the characters that is definitely reminiscent of a Kubrick film.

And ironically, despite the fact that I turned to this movie as my first Herzog non-documentary, the film almost feels like a documentary. The way the film is shot with hand-held camera and without any pomp or dramatization makes everything feel so real and authentic. It's very obvious that everything in the film was done for real on location and that is to its advantage as you really feel like you're there with these men rather than just watching a dramatization.

This ultra-realism also works very well in bringing the themes of the film through and making them resonate. The film is clearly about man's misguided and even delusional thirst for power. Aguirre embodies this more than anyone in the film - a man with very clear delusions of grandeur who fancies himself a god despite clear evidence that his expedition is futile and doomed to failure. Klaus Kinski gives a spectacular performance in this role which is even more impressive given his relatively minimal amount of dialogue. He just has such an ominous presence on screen, his face perpetually twisted in a snarl, and he becomes almost hypnotic to watch as the film goes on.

And it isn't just Aguirre. Essentially every Spaniard in the film engages in treachery at least once, including the holy man who utters one of the most searing lines of the film: "You know, my child, for the good of our Lord, the Church was always on the side of the strong." Ouch. These men commit mutiny, elect "emperors", make grand declarations of land ownership, and hold trials with their only audience being the indifferent tangle of vegetation and the raging river. The realism of the film perfectly captures how delusional these men really are as they parade around with their notions of power and fame in the middle of the jungle. Nothing could be further from the truth as they slowly succumb one by one, lost in a foreign and foreboding land. And their impossible goal of finding El Dorado, the imaginary city of gold, is the perfect metaphor for their delusion. A great strength of the film is that the way this theme is executed feels so universal. Herzog isn't just showing us the madness of these particular men in this particular scenario, he's showing us the madness of man in general. He showing us that these illusions of power are just that - illusions. In the grand scheme of the world and the universe, the titles of men are meaningless and transient.

Aguirre: The Wrath of God is a powerful film and an impressive achievement from a filmmaking perspective. However, it is definitely not a movie that is out to entertain or dazzle its audience. It is a film of ideas rather than plot or spectacle. Really the only criticism I can make of the film on a first viewing is that there were some moments of humor which felt a bit out of place given the tone of the film - a man makes a quip after being shot with an arrow or a decapitated head speaks its last word. There is definitely an absurdity to the film and you could argue that these scenes play to that, but I felt these moments perhaps went a bit to far and were too cartoony to mesh well within the film's fabric of realism. Regardless, it's a minor complaint which does very little to sour an otherwise excellent film.

AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD (Werner Herzog - West Germany 1972).

Herzog's daring and unconventional approach in film-making is something very few filmmakers can match. Due to the incredible hardships while filming on location in the Amazonian jungle, the myth surrounding AGUIRRE has almost outgrown the virtues of the film itself and over the years it has become an almost integral part when (re)viewing this film, even more so since Herzog's documentary MY BEST FIEND (1999) was released about his relationship with "best enemy" and star in many of his films, Klaus Kinski.

A mesmerizing exploration of human obsession based on the diaries of Gaspar de Varvajal, a monk who accompanied Gonzalez Pizarro (half-brother of the brutal conqueror of the Incas) and died during the expedition, the film chronicles Pizarro's 1560 Peruvian expedition in search of the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. When the expedition is faltering by the difficult terrain, Pizarro decides to send a small party ahead to determine if exploration should continue. Though Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerra) is put in charge, he is soon challenged by the ambitious fanatical Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), who against all odds wants the journey to continue, with catastrophic consequences.

One of the key elements in Herzog's work is the use of landscape and the natural surroundings. The Amazonian jungle is a key third dimension in the film and really is a green hell, threatening and unforgiven. There's no romanticism in Herzog's view of nature. The continuing sounds of the running water and the birds are just as important for the story and the despair of Aguirre's men as the ambient electronic soundtrack by the German ensemble Popol Vuh, the ultimate modern and very German pioneers in electronic music, mixing choral chants with electronic samples and organ music. To me it is simply astonishing Herzog decided to use their in a film about 16th century Spanish explorers shot on location in the Amazon and somehow it works wonderfully, a perfect blend of image and sound. Hard to identify a very important element of the "natural soundtrack": what's the name of the bird that produces this whistling shriek, that is heard almost continuously in the background and is one of the most recognizable sounds of Neo-tropical rain forests? A Quetzal?

Klaus Kinski's performance is a perfect match for Aguirre's descent into madness, eerily resemblant to Kinski's own Mad Kraut persona and well-published rampant behavior on the set and his misconduct in general actually. Watching the film for the first time with audio commentary by Herzog and he revealed many things I never heard before. One of the strangest anecdotes is not really about the film itself but is, well..truly one of the most bizarre things I ever heard.

Before the shooting started, Herzog and his crew were boarding for the plane that would bring them from Lima to Cuzco when the airplane had some technical problems. Since the airline company in question already had two or three serious accidents not long before, they decided to wait and take the next plane. Repaired or not, the plane left off anyway and crashed in the Amazonian jungle with the only survivor a young German woman, Juliane Koepcke. After weeks she finally reached a remote Indian village, malnourished, an almost fatal larval infection, close to death. Later Herzog would make a documentary about this, JULIANES STURZ IN DEN DSCHUNGEL (English title: Wings of Hope) (2000). Besides the already astonishing, many times near-fatal accidents and Kinski's impossible madman behavior, this film seemed doomed from the start, like an old curse from the Incas.

For those less familiar with Herzog's work, FITZCARRALDO (1982), also by Herzog and shot under equally horrendous conditions in the Peruvian jungle, would make a good companion piece. For Herzog's relationship with Kinski there is the interesting documentary MEIN LIEBSTER FEIND (My best fiend) (1999).

Camera Obscura --- 10/10

Stunning, dreamlike film documents (in a somewhat documentary style), the story of Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), who leads a group of Spanish conquistadors into the depths of the jungle in search for El Dorado, the mythical city of gold. Beautiful cinematography and locations place the viewer into the heart of the jungle, where they witness firsthand Aguirre's descent into madness. Continually interesting and exciting, it features some of the greatest images ever committed to film, most notably the opening and closing shots of the movie.

... in his pursuit of the gold of El Dorado while exhibiting incestuous thoughts towards his daughter and a belief he is god - with a supporting cast of treason, mutiny, murder, slavery, cannibalism and monkeys: you consider yourself fortunate not to have been part of the Spanish, or indeed any countries ruthless empire building in the past.

You are however grateful, for the vision and inspirational insight brought to you by Werner Herzog, leaving you transfixed by the pioneers plight, surroundings (visual and audible), naivety and ignorance in their futile quest for immortality and riches. When you couple all this with the challenges of the films gestation, the time of its inception and the instability and unpredictable nature of Klaus Kinski; that it was ever birthed in the first instance turns it into a treasure worth discovering, or rediscovering if you've mislaid your ability to explore new cinematic horizons.

Klaus Kinski's enigmatic and frightening portrayal of man's obsession in Werner Herzog's nightmare masterpiece Aguirre: The Wrath Of God is a German film that is as powerful today as it was when released back in 1972. Kinski and Herzog's absolute real life hate for one another only makes the film more real in its depiction of a man driven to the edge of sanity as his obsession for a mythical treasure - so obsessed that he sacrifices all that is precious to him in finding it. Like the 'Mosquito Coast', an almost identical film, it concentrates on the human condition, in how far 'man' can go in his quest of becoming God. Werner Herzog, who's persistence in Klaus Kinski to star in most of his films, is a master storyteller and one great director, famous for other films starring Kinski including "Fitzcarraldo" and "Woyzeck". "Aguirre: The Wrath Of God", however, is his and Klaus Kinski's most famous and one of the most powerful films of all time.

Entirely a true story, set in the 1600s, following the annihilation of the Incas Empire, when the Spanish Conquistadors explored and roamed most of South America, a legendary expedition set out in Peru into the Amazon River to locate the mythical City Of Gold, El Dorado. Pizarro, the leader of the expedition comes to the point where he must turn and head back to civilization, following a long and tormenting journey that ultimately led them to nowhere. Fearing they'll get lost in the uncharted jungles of the Amazon, he sends a smaller group to complete the journey and commands them to return within a few days if no Gold is found. It is only a matter of time before this group faces unbearable difficulties down the Amazon River. Fearing the leader of their new group might turn back to prevent any more men being killed, Don Lope de Aguirre (Kinski) inspires a mutiny and manipulates the men in believing that with the riches they would find they wouldn't need to go home. They must battle with the native enemy they can't see and walk through the most difficult terrain on a most terrifying quest. What follows is a devastating character study of human nature and how one's obsession can destroy him and everything that really matters.

This film comes as a rarity in our world gone mad - a world controlled by greedy, obsessed and powerful dehumanized people. Klaus Kinski was one of the world's most profound and versatile actors. His rough, striking and villainous exterior gave him an almighty presence. He creates such a vividly obsessed and evil character in the film, you are easily convinced he is for real. I believe his abhorrence for Werner Herzog assisted him in his performance. Never during filming did they ever share ideas, always opposing and showing one's hatred for one another, which leaves people questioning their constant repairing. But Werner Herzog makes no mistake when casting Kinski in his films. Kinski drives the film, sometimes completely on his own. Werner Herzog's films are always extremely deep, philosophical and mythical. The cinematography is consistently breathtaking and never fails to transport you to the world Herzog intends to take you. And music perfectly paints the picture of human degradation, with its slow, subtle and haunting tone. It sticks in your head long after the conclusion and adds immensely to the the power of the film.

'Aguirre: The Wrath Of God', much like 'The Mosquito Coast', is one of the most poignant character studies in film history. It is in German with subtitles, but you are bound to forget they are there, as this epic film will take you to the vast and dehumanizing Amazon on an adventurous journey you will never forget. See this for the adventure if not for the underlining depth. It is a master work from a unique artist that is Werner Herzog and made a classic by the colossal Klaus Kinski. A beautiful and haunting experience that is not to be missed.