In my foray through classic cinema, there has always been something about Werner Herzog's tale of the search for the lost city of El Dorado that has not taken to my fancy, so much so that I have put off a viewing of it for almost two years. However, it's status as a classic, as a must-see is too strong and this week I finally laid my hands on a copy. So the question is, were my presuppositions about the film justified? Absolutely not...
...and it didn't take long for them to be quelled either. From the very first shot of Aguirre: The Wrath of God, I was mesmerized. This shot, of which I have tried to aid my description of, by providing an image of it below, is of the Spanish conquistadors descending down a mountain into the jungle below. The foggy conditions and the haunting, hypnotic score in the background help to establish an immediate sense of unease and reluctance to continue this journey of which we have now become a part of. We see no summit of the mountain; the Spanish are descending, we see no goal to which they are aiming to attain. Within minutes, Herzog has managed to get across to the viewer the inescapable, foreboding sense of doom facing these conquistadors, and he does this in a remarkable fashion. The journey facing these men is going to be a difficult one and there seems little chance of success.
Once this impressive first, pre-credit shot, is over, we learn that under the command of Pizarro, a small group of men will be sent down river on man-made rafts in search of gold in the lost city of El Dorado. They are given a time limit; one week to return with news or they will be considered lost, presumed dead. Aguirre (played by the impressive Klaude Kinski, in the first of his collaborations with director Herzog) is put second in command. What follows is the rather quick process of Aguirre's rise to domination over his fellow conquistador's. And then, for want of a better way of describing the following turn of events...things happen. People die, horses go crazy, dead bodies are mysteriously found, the few remaining survivors of what has become a doomed trip go hungry and hallucinate, disillusioned men walk off into the forest never to be seen again, Indians open fire and kill all. All except Aguirre. Aguirre doesn't die (although how could he possibly go on after the camera stops rolling?), Aguirre doesn't starve or hallucinate, or get hit by an arrow.
And then, just as the film began with an impressive shot, it ends with one too. As the camera swirls around the raft, we see Aguirre standing tall, surrounded by corpses, refusing to accept defeat, perhaps with further plans of how to go on alone already being formulated. A truly memorable way to conclude a film that packs a punch of monumental impact. Aguirre: The Wrath of God truly is an impact film. It's been nearly a week since I watched it, and I still cannot get some these two shots in particular out of my head, so much so that they compelled me to write down my thoughts.
This is not a film that uses action sequences to link up scenes towards an ultimate plot end. (There is never, in my mind, any question regarding whether the group will reach the lost city or not). What it is is a film that thrives on the desire for power, the force of nature, the madness of it's lead character and the stubborn beliefs that he holds. None of the other characters really seem to matter; this is all about Aguirre, as the title may suggest. It is all about his mistaken vision that he could achieve great things, that he was somehow superior, that he could overcome all the odds to secure power. Atmospheric, haunting and bold and made under conditions so intense that describing them as 'difficult' is simply and under-statement; this is a near-masterpiece.
Rating: 9/10
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