Review by Chris
Repholz
Leave
it to those whacky Germans to make a movie
about Spanish conquistadors, lost in the
jungles of Central America, circa 1561.
Directed by the legendary Werner Herzog
(director of other Kinski flicks like NOSFERATU
and FITZCARRALDO),
AGUIRE is about a lost expedition of some
of Hernando Cortes' noblemen.
When in
Germany, if you're going to make a film
about greed, incest, power, and megalomania,
then you have no choice but to hire the
man... the myth... Klaus Kinski. As Don
Lupe de Aguirre, Klaus grimaces, broods,
snarls, stares at faraway objects and sometimes
squints. He is a vicious, paranoid-psychotic-megalomaniac
who will kill anyone that stands in his
way. After shooting the leader of the expedition,
he convinces the other noblemen to mutiny
with him so that they may have the wealth
they seek, instead of giving it to the King
and Queen of Spain. He declares himself
ruler of the new lands in which they roam.
AGUIRRE
is basically a character study of a man
whose greed overcomes his sanity. I say
"basically," because neither the
screenplay nor Kinski is strong enough to
truly make the man come alive. K2 doesn't
have much dialogue, though some of his lines
are incredible. He informs his men that
he is ruler and punisher, the "wrath
of God" (hence the title). The wide-eyed
stare that Kinski affects as he gives his
demented monologue is especially hilarious.
Maybe he is a complete lunatic, or maybe
it was the gun that Herzog reportedly held
on Kinski to make sure that he finished
the film. Legend has it that K2 wanted to
quit halfway through the flick and leave
Brazil, but Herzog threatened to kill him
if he did. Today, both men laugh about it,
but Kinski has never come out with the "truth."
[NOTE: Actually, on page 202 of All I
Need Is Love, Kinski details the incident.
According to him, when he threatened to
leave the production mid-way, Herzog threatened
to shoot him eight times, and then use the
ninth bullet on himself. Kinski then informed
him that no gun with nine chambers existed
and that he was the only one with a gun
on the crew. "A Winchester."]
If you
want fast-paced, crazy exploitation, DO
NOT rent AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD. It has
"European style" stamped all over
it: slow moving, sparse dialogue that borders
on wordy. If you want to see Kinski playing
a full tilt psycho with wild abandon and
trying his damndest to act, you just might
enjoy the flick. The subtitles aren't as
well done as they could have been, so be
warned. Definitely not for everyone, but
an interesting film overall.
