Review of Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) by Tibor B — 23 Aug 2008
What surprised me most about this film was it's authenticity. These people were really in this terrifying, labyrinth of a jungle. Werner Herzog strikes me as a director who really cares about his films.
The fact that everything is on location and not on some set is a testament to how much he wanted his vision to be fully realized. The acting was great especially by Klaus Kinski. He doesn't even have the sort of madman face that I expected.
He slowly descends into madness and then you can see the change on his face. His walk/limp was so creepy. All his little eccentricities made him one of the most memorable characters I've seen. The last half is an allegory for greed and obsession in men and how it drives people to do some pretty crazy shit.
The final images of him on the raft with all those monkeys is really effective and makes it one of the most unsettling yet great endings I've watched.
This review of Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) was written by Tibor B on 23 Aug 2008.
Aguirre, the Wrath of God has generally received very positive reviews.
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