Review of Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) by Viet Phuong N — 06 Aug 2014

The opening scene is absolutely beautiful and echoes the mystical ancient Indian kingdom. The last scene is terribly haunting with the image of the "Nature prevails" over the loneliness and craziness of human beings.

The allegoricalness of the film is also delicately presented through the, ironically enough, pure madness of Klaus Kinski, reflecting from his eyes and mouth of terror (symbolically and literally). Through and through, I understand and appreciate the greatness of the film and can easily realise the deep influence of this films in other cinematic epics like Apocalypse Now or (partly) Life of Pi.

BUT I could not get the perfectness of the film, given the lousy supporting cast, who really looks amateur (by today standard) in their roles, and the scarce props/setting, which are more suitable for a stage play than a cinematic film.

Of course I understand the hostility of the filming environment and Herzog's insistence of filming on location as well as the allegorical values of such setting (the immense ambience of the Amazon River versus the fragility of the expedition), but, I really could not get it, I am sorry failing you, Mr.

Herzog, Mr. Ebert ...