Aguirre - Wrath of God

Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1973, 90 minutes

Gonzalo Pizarro has led his men into the jungle in search of El Dorado. Now, with supplies running out, he is contemplating a retreat. But in case the fabled city of gold should be round the next bend, he decides to send a small advance party to explore upriver. This smaller group is reluctantly led by aristocrat Don Pedro de Ursua, with Aguirre his second in command. Also present - along with soldiers and slaves - are the priest Gaspar de Carvajal, the nobleman Fernando de Guzman, Ursua's wife Flores, Aguirre's daughter Inez, and a black slave named Okello.

Aguirre leads a putsch - the choice of term is deliberate if we take Aguirre as a stand-in for Hitler - overthrowing de Ursua, then bides his time by encouraging de Guzman's election as leader. The nobleman, who gorges himself as the others share a few meagre grains of corn amongst themselves and shows no concern for their wellbeing, soon goes the same way as his predecessor. Any hope that Aguirre would prove any better is soon shattered as the expedition continues deeper and deeper into the green inferno.

This is a film that has to be experienced, from its breathtaking opening sequence - an endless stream of men flowing through the winding mountain paths in the distance whilst in the foreground Klaus Kinski deploys his all but patented manic stare, accompanied by the otherwordly strains of Popol Vuh's ambient music.

Madness is impossible to separate from Werner Herzog's method here in his denial of the conventional boundaries between fiction and documentary with the cast and crew submitting themselves to similar conditions as their filmic subjects. The near constant fights between director and star are now the stuff of legend.

Review by Miichel Gentil
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2004

Klaus Kinski heads the cast in this intriguing tale about Don Lope de Aguirre, a Spanish Conquistador searching for the elusive El Dorado in sixteenth century Peru. As time goes on, we see him become increasingly delirious and wild, confronting everyone and everything with an insane wickedness.

Aguirre is a visually brilliant film, opening and ending with truly spectacular images. Herzog exercises his well known love for placing people in uncomfortable, ultimately hopeless environments to haunting effect and Kinski is mesmerising in the lead role, marvellously bringing out the self-destructive evil inherent in the character. A powerful and profoundly lyrical piece of filmmaking.

Review by Stephen Townsend
Taken from EUFS Programme 1992-93