MoFo Nostromo's Picture Show Reflections

the story follows a Spanish caravan of 16th century conquistadors exploring the jungle rivers of South America in search of el Dorado, 'the City of Gold.' i found all the other characters to be a tad bland, but then there's bizarro Klaus Kinski.. in his goofy steel helmet sounding like a nazi mein führer transported to a south american jungle in 1561. after the expedition struggles over mountains, through mud, and various terrain challenges, the noble leader throws in the towel and elects a small band of men and women to go deeper into the jungle. Only two of these men have leadership capability, Ursua, more of a gentleman... and Lope del Aguirre, a ruthless and ambitious soldier. Pretty quickly it becomes clear whose willpower is driving the group onwards


Making the Movie: if we are going to give Francis Ford Coppola props for the difficulties of his Apocalypse Now shoot... Herzog deserves major props for the difficulties of filming this one. Apocalypse Now had a $31.5 Million budget and took 3 years to complete. Herzog filmed Aguirre on a $370,000 budget and shooting lasted 5 weeks. in Apocalypse Now, at least Coppola's actors were driving around on a motor-driven boat. Herzog's actors were riding through rapids in the jungles of Peru on little rafts made of wood. also read somewhere that Herzog filmed this movie with a stolen 35mm camera. it's been said Werner Herzog himself didn't know what dialogue was going to be said 10 minutes before shooting his scenes. Aguirre, Wrath of God and Apocalypse Now, both a descent down a river into madness. without Aguirre in 1972, there pretty much wouldn't have been an Apocalypse Now in 1979


Conclusion: so what is this movie really about? this did not come all at once while viewing... but only after contemplating this film over the past day. i believe Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski struck on something profound here... without bashing the viewer over the head with it. it's a story about delusions, lust for riches, fame, and power. Aguirre is pretty much batsh!t insane, he's sent off into the jungle with a small band of explorers by a Spanish nobleman, in the middle of a nowhere jungle, surrounded by savages... and yet he becomes consumed with finding the City of Gold, finding riches and power beyond imagination, and begins to dream of conquering Spain. they claim all the land they pass by on their little wooden rafts... and it'd be absurd, hell it is totally absurd, and yet this is exactly the kind of thing that happened back in the 1500's and 1600's with the Age of Exploration. expeditions set out to find insane destinations like 'the Fountain of Youth,' 'the City of Gold,' and who knows what else, claiming all the land they passed. when really it was just a bunch of wilderness and natives. but let's get to the point. if this were just a movie that said 'lust for riches, fame and power is destructive' it'd be a pretty flat story... and i don't believe it would be as thought-provoking a film as it is. i mean, we know these things.

i think there's more to it than just that. Aguirre's influence over the small expedition only became possible bc he was able to convince the muscle of the group to back him through promises of riches, fame and power, through finding the City of Gold. as batsh!t insane as he was, Kinski's character carries the entire film on his hunchback-limping shoulders. he is easily the only fascinating character in the story. he has a vision... and even tho he drives himself to insanity and destroys everyone in his expedition... who is the only man standing at the end? .........
Aguirre.
because as delusional as he is, that vision and absurd ambition gives him something to live for. while all the others didn't share the extent of his delusion, and they perished. i'd like to see what happens to him after the credits roll. he's planning his new empire on a drowning little wooden raft in the middle of the Amazon jungle surrounded by the corpses of his crew. surely you'd think his death comes shortly after, but who knows

oh, and on top of everything i found Kinski's character totally hysterical in a sort of dark & cynical way

bossman says: "Do it like this!" ↑