Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Aguirre, Der Zorn Gottes) (1972)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Starring: Klaus Kinski, Ray Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro, Peter Berling

From: Several different West German and Mexican companies

Perhaps I should start calling Klaus Kinski “an actual madman” instead of “probable real-life villain.” As I read more about him and the making of this film… there are multiple films where someone wanted to murder him for his behavior! He was such an obnoxious boor and volatile-not to mention the rumors of vile behavior w/ him & his kids-I try to separate art from artist yet it is hard to when he is said to have been incredibly enthusiastic to play the title character here—a madman in 1560’s Peru who leads a mutiny while on a search for El Dorado. As my first-ever Werner Herzog fictional film, this was a wise selection by myself.

The intent of the film was to present how increasingly absurd the quest was for white people (along with native slaves) in half-armor to traipse around the Amazon jungles based on unfounded rumors of a gold city in South America. The journey does not go well… the highlight performance was from Kinski; while theatrical, it did fit the material as the titular character descended further into psychosis. The trek includes journeys on rapids via wooden rafts; in fact, Coppola admitted this was a big influence on Apocalypse Now. In addition, the shoot was difficult as the cast & crew worked in such a harsh environment and had to travel on those rafts. In comparison to the Apocalypse Now shoot, on the other hand…

The film’s incredibly tenuous connection w/ reality in terms of the characters presented here that were based on actual figures was irrelevant when the movie looked stunning with how the breathtaking locations were filmed, the plot and the ethereal score from krautrock band Popol Vuh. The latter aspect was a key component in driving the film & keeping me enthralled, between the pan flute and the faux chorus that was created on analog synths.

Just days ago, it was announced that Herzog was returning to the fictional world with Dead Man’s Wire, a movie starring another Letterboxd favorite, Nicolas Cage. For certain, I’ll see some other Herzog fictional films in the future.