Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)


Aguirre, the Wrath of God was the first movie in which Werner Herzog cast Klaus Kinski as the lead.  He had previously had some contact with the actor when he had rented a room from Herzog's family and, after writing the script, thought he would be perfect for the lead role.  Kinski thought so as well and a long, contentious partnership between the two was begun.

I don't know if Herzog was aware of Kinski's difficulties, but in his usual fashion he decided to make a movie about an ill-fated journey down the Amazon River from Peru to find the fabled city of El Dorado by taking his crew to Peru and floating down the Amazon River.  I have often wondered who was crazier, Herzog or Kinski, when it came to the two as collaborators and rivals.  Whatever the answer may be to that their partnership resulted in some of the best movies to grace the screen.

Gonzalo Pizarro (Alejandro Repullés), governor of the Spanish colony of Peru, sets out with an army and a large party of Indian slaves to find El Dorado, the famed city of gold said to exist somewhere in the Amazon rain forest.  After an arduous journey in which they make little headway he decides to send a group onward to scout and then return so he can make his own decision on returning to where he came.  The leader of the expedition is Don Pedro de Ursúa (Ruy Guerra), accompanied by his mistress Inez de Atienza (Helena Rojo).  Don Lope de Aguirre (Kinski) is placed second in command, accompanied by his daughter Flores (Cecilia Rivera).  Also along for the ride is Don Fernando de Guzmán (Peter Berling), a nobleman, and the monk Gaspar de Carvajal (Del Negro), who keeps a journal of the trip.

Almost immediately the expedition turns into a disaster, with men lost to the river and soon to hostile Indians.  Aguirre, deciding that he wants to be the next Cortez, rebels against Ursúa, shooting him and places Gúzman in charge, naming him Emperor of El Dorado, while Aguirre runs things behind the scenes.  As the trip continues and El Dorado is no nearer Aguirre soon drifts into paranoia and insanity. 

Despite the seeming historicity of the opening crawl this is really based on a couple of incidents that happened.  The trip we see on screen is similar to a journey undertaken by Francisco de Orellana that was initiated by Pizarro in order to find El Dorado.  Part of Herzog's original script dealt with a search for the lost expedition, but ultimately that part was abandoned as the movie went on.  The historical Aguirre did try to rebel, with a number of men, against Spain, and managed to mount an invasion of what is now Venezuela only to find that officials were quite aware of what he was up to and that there was a significant number of men who wanted to have a conversation with him - one that resulted in his dismemberment for being a traitor. 

The reason why the movie departs from history is that, as filming went on, Herzog allowed it to develop organically rather than follow his script.  Events, such as a sudden rise in the river and the loss of rafts that had been constructed for the production, were worked into the film.  Much of the acting that made it on screen was improvised, working from whatever situation they were in.  This lends the film a more realistic tone.  In the middle of this is Kinski giving one of his standout performances. 

While Aguirre has earned both its status as a work of art and a cult film it does get bogged down in places.  There are times when the expedition is making no progress and the feeling is all too real for the viewer, as it feels like the movie is idling as well.  Also, despite being the lead character, Aguirre is in the background for a large part of the film while it concentrates on the crew and what they suffer.  Using Kinski sparingly helps to enhance his significance, but the sidelining of the lead character may confuse some viewers. 

As with most Herzog films the cinematography is wonderful.  The opening descent from the mountains, set to the music of Popol Vuh, is quite amazing, and he definitely does not waste any of his location shooting.  The only other main issue is that, since the original English dialogue came out unusable, the German dubbing is clumsy and distracting.  Still, that can be forgiven, as Aguirre, the Wrath of God delivers an emotional impact in the end, commenting both on obsession and the futility of such, while not pulling any punches about the horrors the Spanish brought to the New World.  The irony is that Herzog, in his own obsessive manner, managed to achieve his goal with this movie.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Time: 95 minutes
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro, Peter Berling
Director: Werner Herzog

 

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