Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) ***½

Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes is not an easy film to like, in fact its slow pace and detestable lead character should serve to alienate the audience, however its fascinating journey into the dark nature of man where personal ambition and greed cloud common sense and good judgment makes for quite a powerful film. The film is almost shot guerrilla style. There are no sets, just men wandering about the jungle in search of the elusive El Dorado. The film score is sparse and the blood effects come off as unrealistic, quite an unnatural color spews from the bodies of the conquistadors. The film perfectly suits the mood of the characters, adrift down the river with no real idea of where it's headed. There is no real foreshadowing of what will happen to the explorers, other than the knowledge that there is no El Dorado. Aguirre (Klaus Kinski) makes the prophetic statement at the beginning that the river will be the death of them however his hunger for wealth and power blind him to the realities of the situation and the film follows his slow descent into madness as his strength and numbers are slowly stripped away leaving him alone with only demented fantasies of success.

This film is said to have been an inspiration for Francis Ford's Coppola's Apocalypse Now and like that film it follow its characters as they venture into unknown territory which breaks down their resolve and morale. The promise of El Dorado is too great of an opportunity to turn their backs on, and once the decision is made to return the scouting party back to the base camp, in effect give up the search, Aguirre stages a mutiny and injures the leader, Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerra) and convinces the men to continue the search, break off from Spain, and form a new empire built about the riches they will find in El Dorado. Most of the men are willing participants in this mutiny especially after one of Ursua's followers is summarily executed. To maintain order and put a face of respectability upon their traitorous behavior, Aguirre remains as second-in-command and names Don Fernando de Guzman (Peter Berling), an easily manipulable man who is more concerned with where his next meal is coming from than to see the fatal perils of their quest.

The film successfully explores the clash of these "modern" men in direct conflict with the land and peoples that have remained unchanged for thousands of years. They come into contact with cannibals and are picked off little by little by unseen forces which they can not directly engage as only fleeting glimpses are caught of them. This unseen force mirrors that of the jungle, which also contributes to the rising death toll as food supplies continue to run out. Even when faced with the reality that even if El Dorado is found the wealth will not aide in their survival, Aguirre, becoming obsessed with his quest, orders the elimination of any man who even speaks of desertion. He is unwilling to admit that El Dorado does not exist and that they have traveled too far and done so much to turn around and limp home empty handed and with tail tucked firmly between their legs. The men become delirious from lack of food and infection until their raft is left circling in the same spot on the river with no one even capable of mounting a defense when the next attack comes. One man barely stirs when an arrow hits him in the leg as he believes it to be a hallucination.

Aguirre finally loses his grip on reality completely when his daughter is killed during one of the attacks, the only person in the party that he has ever shown any care for. He cradles her body tenderly and it's some of the only emotion we see from this man who has become a ruthless dictator who kills anyone who dares to dissent from his course of action. The final scene has him circling around the raft, while the raft itself circles around the river, the camera adding to the dizzying illusion by itself circling around the raft. The sentiment is that of the last remains of the expedition spiraling out of control, or going down the drain to its final resting place. Aguirre continues to make bold claims of the success of his quest, his dreams of the new empire that will return to Spain and dethrone the king, and the founding of a great dynasty with the offspring of himself and his deceased daughter. The last image of the man who would be king has him ranting and trying to drive his new legion of followers, monkeys which have invaded the raft, into action. The jungle has swallowed up this expedition and soon there will be no trace that it has never existed. Despite the advancements of modern technology there are some spots on the globe, now as even then, that man does not stand a chance of conquering. If only Aguirre had not allowed his obsession to turn away from that first prediction of what would happen. But after all, he's only human.

Favorite moment: After Aguirre finally has Ursua hanged, his mistress Inez (Helena Rojo), the only continuing vocal faction against Aguirre, boldly walks into the jungle to certain death at the hands of the natives the next time the raft makes landfall at a village. The fact that this woman would rather place her life in the hands of murderous natives, and possible cannibals, over that of Aguirre is a powerful statement that she gives her life to make. The death from the natives will be quick and painless compared to slow, ghastly deaths we witness of the men on the raft. Inez simply disappears into the jungle without a trace which unfortunately will be like everyone on this journey except she was able to choose her time, a final act of independence.