I don't pretend to be an expert on German cinema, so don't quote me, but is this the best they can do??? Artful cinematography is one thing, but what is achieved by staring at either a mountain or a tree or a river in silence for a whole minute? Character development? HOW???
I've always been fascinated by the Spanish conquest of the Americas and on top of that, this was my first taste of Werner Herzog. I wanted to be moved, excited and perhaps a little bit frightened... Instead, taking into account the occasional instances of gratuitous violence and half-hearted dialogue, I was nearly bored out of my wits. Madness and mayhem in the jungle- this film had so much potential and yet Herzog completely wastes his subject material, filling most of the runtime with either pointless chatter or shots of trees. Klaus Kinski plays the title role of Aguirre- known as "The Wrath of God" or "El Loco" ("The Mad"- ironic, considering the fact that he played "Loco" in 1968's The Great Silence), and is totally wasted. Honestly, he made more of an impact in the few minutes of screentime he shared with the great Lee Van Cleef in For A Few Dollars More than he does in a whole movie- stumbling his way through the scenery and staring at the trees like a demented chameleon, though he's neither maddening nor frightening when he does so.
However, perhaps the film's biggest fault is its core story's sheer failure to grip. When I read up about the real Lope de Aguirre, I got quite a shock: leading his men into the jungle on the hunt for El Dorado, Lope went mad and proclaimed himself "The Wrath of God" before murdering his own daughter. In fact, the real Aguirre was so evil that he was eventually betrayed and murdered by his own men. Sound's like quite a guy? Herzog's version of events is about as dull as it is possible to get- during the film's climax, Aguirre's company is randomly ambushed whilst going down the river by Indians and filled full of arrows (à la Apocalypse Now), with only Kinski left alive to continue to do what he does best in this film: shuffle around the deck, talk babble and quietly stare at the trees, with what could've been a real journey into the mind of a murderous madman like Aguirre de Lope reduced to an underwhelming artist statement.
Want to watch a soldier taking a river boat upstream and going mad in the jungle, on a journey that grips, haunts and dazzles the mind? Watch Apocalypse Now instead- you won't be disappointed. I can't say the same about myself and Aguirre, the Wrath of God...
I've always been fascinated by the Spanish conquest of the Americas and on top of that, this was my first taste of Werner Herzog. I wanted to be moved, excited and perhaps a little bit frightened... Instead, taking into account the occasional instances of gratuitous violence and half-hearted dialogue, I was nearly bored out of my wits. Madness and mayhem in the jungle- this film had so much potential and yet Herzog completely wastes his subject material, filling most of the runtime with either pointless chatter or shots of trees. Klaus Kinski plays the title role of Aguirre- known as "The Wrath of God" or "El Loco" ("The Mad"- ironic, considering the fact that he played "Loco" in 1968's The Great Silence), and is totally wasted. Honestly, he made more of an impact in the few minutes of screentime he shared with the great Lee Van Cleef in For A Few Dollars More than he does in a whole movie- stumbling his way through the scenery and staring at the trees like a demented chameleon, though he's neither maddening nor frightening when he does so.
However, perhaps the film's biggest fault is its core story's sheer failure to grip. When I read up about the real Lope de Aguirre, I got quite a shock: leading his men into the jungle on the hunt for El Dorado, Lope went mad and proclaimed himself "The Wrath of God" before murdering his own daughter. In fact, the real Aguirre was so evil that he was eventually betrayed and murdered by his own men. Sound's like quite a guy? Herzog's version of events is about as dull as it is possible to get- during the film's climax, Aguirre's company is randomly ambushed whilst going down the river by Indians and filled full of arrows (à la Apocalypse Now), with only Kinski left alive to continue to do what he does best in this film: shuffle around the deck, talk babble and quietly stare at the trees, with what could've been a real journey into the mind of a murderous madman like Aguirre de Lope reduced to an underwhelming artist statement.
Want to watch a soldier taking a river boat upstream and going mad in the jungle, on a journey that grips, haunts and dazzles the mind? Watch Apocalypse Now instead- you won't be disappointed. I can't say the same about myself and Aguirre, the Wrath of God...