CibbuanoAguirre, Wrath of God
August 17th 2008 23:30
Adapting Heart of Darkness is the white whale of filmmaking; it's been attempted by many directors, such as Orson Welles, and Coppola's vision is the one most often remembered, as it was a powerful, crazed masterpiece.
Coppola's vision was heavily influenced by another film, one by Werner Herzog, called "Aguirre, Wrath of God", which depicts the struggle of a group of Spanish conquistadors to reach the legendary city, El Dorado.
From the opening moments of "Aguirre, Wrath of God", the viewer understands that this is going to be heavy cinema; we are treated to a breathtaking jungle gorge, mist creeping over the vines, only to notice a line of people, tiny like ants, making their way down a steep, rocky path. Some of them are dressed in Spanish armour, some are carrying livestock. The camera pulls back to show us the line continuing down the gorge and coming up the other side, hundreds of people, struggling and making their way up this mountain.
After that, the film proceeds to get dark and haunted. There is no optimism, save that for the search of the golden city, and you can't help buy ask, why?
The soldier, Aguirre, is played by Herzog's favourite actor, Klaus Kinski, a barbarous man in real life, and a fearsomely talented actor. They worked together on five films, which would cement Kinski as one of the best European actors in cinema, but it's here, in "Aguirre", that we see Herzog's fascination.
Kinski's face is that of a savage - heavy brow, cruel, steely eyes and a sneering lip, pulled back into a grimace. As the traitorous Aguirre, Kinski is magnificent, effortlessly ordering people to be shot, screaming at his men, beating the native slaves they have with them.
Herzog's film is an examination of the regression to brutality that civilized men can fall into, spurred by greed and the desire for fame, but the Heart of Darkness almost consumed him, as it did Coppola. Kinski was unbearable to work with, the rivers were angry and dangerous, and the jungle always threatened to hold them back, but such compelling images captured on screen - who else would have the drive to make this film?
"Aguirre, Wrath of God" is not an adaptation of Heart of Darkness, but it captures the same sense of dread, where, even in 1972, a filmmaker could be consumed and eaten by nature. A less exploitative construction than "Cannibal Holocaust", Herzog's film looks deep into Kinski's eyes, suggesting that Aguirre never fell into madness, but that it was always there, waiting dormant, ready to hatch and terrorize.
This is cinema, glorious cinema, fraught with treacherous cliffs and violent crashing rapids.
I say: I loved every second of this, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the movies in this fantastic collection.
See it for: It was hard to look away from one of the noblewomen brought on the expedition, played by notable Mexican actress, Helena Rojo. She captures a strong silent grace, speaking up when she has to - but up against a madman...
*the first image is from DVD Times and the second is of Helena Rojo, from Screenrush
| 116 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
But anything by Herzog is definitely worth seeing and of course a lot of it is truly great work!
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Good stuff
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Tracy, I definitely recommend watching Aguirre, especially if you're reading about Herzog. Fascinating stuff... his relationship with Kinski...
Damo, yeah, a terrific, horrifying face, eh?