Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

English title: Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Genre: colonial docudrama   

With: Klaus Kinski (Don Lope de Aguirre), Helena Rojo (Inez), Del Negro (Brother Gaspar de Carvajal), Ruy Guerra (Don Pedro de Ursua), Peter Berling (Don Fernando de Guzman), Cecilia Rivera (Flores), Daniel Ades (Perucho), Edward Roland (Okello)

Director: Werner Herzog

Screenplay: Werner Herzog

Release: 1972

Studio: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.8/10





I Just Know You’ll Hate This Guy



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Story-line: the setting is Peru in 1560. Having completed their destruction of the Incan empire, Spanish conquerors catch gold fever when they hear about El Dorado, a mineral-rich region on the other side of the Peruvian mountains. Pizarro and a large contingent, including Ursua, Aguirre and Guzman, set out to claim the area for the King of Spain; Gaspar, a monk, will accompany them and document their quest for untold riches.  

Pluses: credible acting by a committed cast but especially by a dour-faced Klaus Kinski (as the ultimate megalomaniac), strong direction and editing, a compact and spellbinding screenplay supplying heavy drama and a few unintentional laughs (mainly at poor Okello’s expense), spectacular cinematography and outdoor settings, Popol Vuh’s haunting musical score (reminiscent of early Pink Floyd) and appropriate production values.

Minuses: none really.

Comments: the brutal and very original AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD takes place in the Amazon but it might as well be on Mars, so uncommon are its looks and subject matter. Leading hundreds of men and hauling heavy gear into the jungle was a monumental – if not suicidal – enterprise centuries ago but, even in the 1970s, Werner Herzog’s project must have been a huge technical challenge. As for the cold-blooded Aguirre, he may claim to be an agent of God but you’re certainly entitled to think otherwise.          





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