Aguirre, wrath of god

Aguirre, the wrath of god.

It’s a cliche to shout, ‘It was a different time when something was in poor taste and judgement. I had a friend for whom this was a catchphrase, having spent his time in the industry from the late 70s to the present. I once pre-empted him after another anecdote about patting bottoms and downing pints with pre-empting the phrase ‘it was a different time’ he turned without recognising what I had done and said, well, Rob, it was!

This is the conflict I had with the wrath of god. I know this is a vital part of cinema. Any historian would want to watch this as part of the oeuvre, also about how film was changing. But frankly, this has a very thankful rob for its short run time as it’s not so much a heart of darkness or apocalypse as holy grail meets five fuckers up a river with no clue and less value.

I want to focus on the positive. It’s sumptuous. These are real locations; the physical effects astound as much imagery as they do the technical in how they did this at the time.  The dense nature of colonisers and the sheer disregard they have for enslaved people and their lives are at the fore. These are not great explorers like some 16th-century astronauts going to find the great unknown. They hear of El Dorado and want gold, only gold. The falling apart of the hierarchy followed by Klaus Kinskis Aguirre is a lazy and dynamic form of baron blackbood whom you can’t help but be captivated by.

However, the sheer absurdity of this travel. The young women resplendent in their outfits, the merchant-like way of the Guzman eating all the food and throwing out a horse. I should have seen these the other way around. I can’t get past the feeling of jabberwocky in my eyes. It could be the budget for the costumes. Maybe it’s the random cannibalism I find hard to question.

But also, some scenes are right out of the bush. The only music is a pan-pipe player who seems to be piping for his life. However, the initial scene where he is maniacally playing for his life while Aguirre stands in such solemn introspection feels like something out of the Mighty Boosh. It’s an Oram and Meeton sketch from many years ago. And this just lost my plot.

The room has a mature audience. Werner had the filter of a swift running time. But to say this is a must-see. Its completists and technicians film. But I would not call it anything that particularly enriching. There was also a level of animal cruelty. That was so gratuitous time does not heal it. 

For the die-hards. But as entertainment, it is fool’s gold.