Rent Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972)

Mission Impossible (spoilers). - Aguirre, Wrath of God review by Steve

Unorthodox historical account of Spanish conquistador Lope de Aguirre’s quest in 1560 to discover the mythic city of gold at El Dorado- supposedly based on the diary of his christian missionary. Inexorably the foolhardy expedition is consumed by lunacy and preyed on by indigenous tribes.

The opening scene of a royal train in a mountain descent, captures the greed borne insanity, the cultural incongruity, and the misguided heroism of Empire. The long ago conquerors seem to emerge out of the sky in their absurd uniforms like ghosts, burdened by the junk of their culture.

There’s a benchmark deranged performance from Klaus Kinski as the hubristic aristocrat who intends to inaugurate a pureblooded dynasty through marriage to his own daughter. Though he hardly seems to be acting at all, but permeating the madness with his presence.

The hallucinatory conclusion with the self-appointed sovereign drifting down the Amazon on a raft of monkeys with the corpses of his men, is astonishing. The hypnotic soundtrack of electro-prog is inspired. It’s not lengthy, but feels like an epic of the imagination. It’s Herzog’s best film and the masterpiece of the New German Cinema.

Oh God, what a film - Aguirre, Wrath of God review by PT

From the opening scene this film is brilliantly shot. Apparently shot on a low budget, which is all the more remarkable. Klaus Kinski is brilliant in the lead, an insane megalomaniac, who is so convincing lunging around like some kind of leering hunchback. The direction by Herzog is equally impressive, giving the film a dark feeling of one mans obsession with power and riches. For film buffs this is a must see.

Uncompromising - spoilers follow ... - Aguirre, Wrath of God review by NP

The documentary ‘My Best Fiend’, in which acclaimed German Director Werner Herzog discusses his love/hate relationship with actor Klaus Kinski (with whom he made five films), explores the complicated balance between genius and someone whose mood-swings makes him virtually unemployable.

‘Aguirre’ was the first collaboration between the two men, with Herzog initially hoping to instill the character of Lope de Aguirre with the kind of genuine manic behaviour he had previously witnessed from Kinski. To say the resultant shoot proved to be fraught is an understatement. And yet, to some extent, the gamble paid off, with Kinski giving a tremendous powerhouse performance. To my mind, however, even this was somewhat overshadowed by the punishing conditions and Amazonian surroundings the characters go through.

In front of the camera, the story tells of the travels of Spanish soldier Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in South America in search of the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. Behind the camera, Kinski’s tantrums terrorized the crew and local natives who were assisting the production. It is difficult to know which is more fascinating, but there’s no doubt that ‘Aguirre’ is an uncompromising and bleak journey into madness and mistrust.

The music comes from West German band Popol Vuh – an excellent soundtrack which conveys both the majesty and unforgiving qualities of the environment. Additional music comes from the persistent native gentleman who doesn’t let the conditions put him off playing a selection of panpipe pieces that lighten and irritate with equal measure.

As you may expect, the journey doesn’t end well for anyone, but the final image of Aguirre alone and still battling to survive, is a strong one. You have to be in the mood for this, but there is no doubt is a very grim and powerful piece of cinema. My score is 7 out of 10.