Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Herzog captures how a quest for fame and immeasurable wealth turns into a manic depressive pilgrimage in a very believable way, relying on basic filmmaking techniques, simple camera rides and shots of beautiful sceneries, next to which he let the crazy face of the insane Klaus Kinski stand out, which in this case was really worth a thousand words. The thought that the likes of Iñárritu and Emmanuel Lubezki could have extracted much more voluminous cinematic art from the subject matter weighs on me, but even the minimalist Aguirre is an ageless visionary work with its aggressive psychological approach... 80% (02/02/2016)

This is a film that certainly won't appeal to everyone, but thanks to Werner Herzog's confident direction and Klaus Kinski's unique performance, I have to admit that this is simply a movie worth seeing. Some of the scenes - filmed in Peru - are truly spectacular, and cinematographer Thomas Mauch deserves kudos. (20/08/2015)

I first got a taste of the creative chemistry between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski in Nosferatu, and Aguirre, The Wrath of God is similar. As in Nosferatu, the director got me with the very first scene, which features a monumental shot of the entire expedition walking through the forest. I have no complaints about the music, even though it was a bit monotonous, it still served its purpose perfectly. I was very impressed by the cinematography, where besides the shots of natural scenery there are also various details from handheld camera and overall it evoked the atmosphere of a documentary at times. As I noted at the beginning, Kinski as Aguirre was perfect (he has an incredible charisma) and Herzog convinced me once again that he is a quality director. (01/12/2011)

Save yourself, nature; man is coming. From the opening minutes, it is clear that the crew really struggled with (and in) the South American wilderness. Undisguised madness. Real danger blurs the line between fiction and documentary. The actors attempt to reconstruct a historical event, but  it seems that they do so for some inner reasons of their own, not primarily for the camera, into which they look several times, thus breaking the fourth wall. Are they perhaps looking for sympathy? “Look, Herzog has gone mad.” Similarly, one could ask where Aguirre ends and where Klaus Kinski begins. Demon. His performance is absolute. As is his power, which destroys a man rather than serving him. One needn’t go far to find examples from more recent history, e.g. German history. But thumbing through the newspaper would actually be enough. Aguirre is an engrossing and timeless film that is also intimate and darkly humorous. Like a radical Apocalypse Now. Appendix: The highlights of the “horsing around” between the director and the lead actor were Herzog’s threat to shoot up and explode the house and Kinski’s planning of premeditated murder. Nice guys. 85% (08/11/2011)

The blending of the reality of filming with the story being told is palpable here. An obsessed Herzog drags an exhausted film crew through the Peruvian jungle, capturing their exhaustion and setting it in the context of the universal futility and doom of human ambition. And in the process, he and Kinski fight over a gun. God knows how many people actually died in the making of this film; and sometimes you never find out. If Coppola was inspired by Aguirre when making Apocalypse Now, he couldn't have been surprised that it went the way it did. (22/03/2021)