Review of Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) by Andy A — 22 Dec 2008

Again, masterful jungle cinematography by Herzog (the same we get in his more recent rumble with Rescue Dawn). With his movies, you get a sense that you are not simply moving through some inanimate set-piece, the rain forest itself becomes a living, breathing creature set against the vain men attempting to conquer it.

Adding to this sense were the great use of brooding handheld. That said however, the movie ultimately becomes slow and loses its fine pace about halfway through--gets a bit too pensive. But Kinski's portrayal of a man (who in all honesty was probably never fully 'with it' in the first place) unhinged, with an army of men at his whim, is stellar and downright creepy.

A good comparison might be "Apocalypse Now" meets "The Thin Red Line"--but Spaniards speaking German? Hmmmmm....