ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

framptonhollis Hopeless, hellish, horrifying, and humorous, 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God' is indefinitely the most iconic of Herzog's narrative films. Shot under the most grueling and uncomfortable conditions imaginable, based loosely upon historical fact, and centering on a mad, obsessive, and tragic anti-hero's excursion into the most deranged depths of his already-deranged-pretty-much-by-default psyche, 'Aguirre' is not the most pleasant and cheerful film ever made, but damn is it stunning. The locations and cinematography are eye poppingly gorgeous and colorful and yet fit the film's desperate and bleak tone w/seamless perfection. The lead performance by the chaotic and demented Klaus Kinski is legendarily haunting and convincing (one can easily draw parallels between the real life Kinski and the character he so perfectly portrays in this film). Tonally, the film balances itself brilliantly out w/disturbing drama, subtly absurd pitch black humor, and intentionally miserable, repetitive "adventure". Everything about the film is dark and grueling, there is no hope, there is only a passionately maniacal weirdo attempting to take control of an already to-likely-be-botched expedition and sadly succeeding. The deluded simultaneous pro/antagonist is portrayed w/an almost brilliant lack of judgement through Herzog's shaking, saddening lens, we are just kind of forced to sit there and view his destruction of all opposition along w/the destruction of all possible success, possible success that was already far-reaching and improbable anyway. Yes, it is a gloomy, dreary, weary, eerie, bleak, dark, disturbing, sad, weird, violent, miserable, surreal, and uniquely funny masterpiece unlike almost any other. While certainly not perfect, and oft-less-than-entertaining, 'Aguirre' is doubtlessly one of the most fascinating, fantastic, and, indeed, GREAT movies of all time.

Ian Zigel I decided to check out this film for a few reasons, one of which is that I was considering taking Werner Herzog's masterclass online in which he claims to have every answer and everything a filmmaker needs to know. In the trailer for the class, Herzog admits that he doesn't use story boards, calling them an instrument for cowards, and that he sees himself as a thief, stealing whatever cool, interesting footage he can. Herzog rightfully has the reputation of being a bad ass, world traveler, and daredevil, who will film whatever he can, and I commend him for that. He has a distinctive style, that I think works especially well in documentary form. But out of principle, I find myself hating "Aguirre" simply because people love to call it a visionary work, and it's anything but that. Granted, it is a wonderful character study and leading man Klaus Kinsky lends to the film tremendously. But Herzog went in without a plan, shot what he could, got the hell out and put it all together in a way that made sense... which works better in a documentary than in a narrative film. We can call it Cinema Verite if we want to ignore the flaws, but if I'm being honest with myself, it just feels lazy. Justified, maybe... being out in the jungle requires some shortcuts, and having a low budget would limit the ability to enforce one's vision... I still respect Herzog for doing what he could with his limited resources and living to tell the tale. But my point is that there is no vision in this film. Herzog had an idea, rushed to write a screenplay in 2 days (not something worth bragging about in my opinion. Malick's opus "The Tree of Life," my personal favorite, took years and years) and he wanted to go film it somewhere cool, and once again, mad props to him for being adventurous, but out of principle I can't get behind a film people are calling visionary when this is just not one of those films. "Aguirre" is only proactive in that Herzog and his crew went on an expedition. Meanwhile the only shot that feels planned is the wonderfully ambitious opening shot of hundreds of conquistadors hiking Machu Picchu, which reminds me of the thing I admire about the film, Herzog's ambition and his exploration of a remote part of the world.Why do you think he's been able to make so many films in his lifetime? It's because he shoots them like documentaries, without any plan, just running around with a camera. We can't hail "Aguirre" in the same ball park as films of great, proactive, visionary filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman, etc. That's what drives me crazy about "Aguirre." I'm not going to call it lazy, because I appreciate Herzog's efforts in exploring the jungle, but it lacks the vision of what I believe to be great films. While Kinski's performance is great, the feeling I'm left with overall is quite bittersweet. And I won't be taking Herzog's master class, because I don't plan on being a documentary filmmaker, and that is where the skill set and the answers Herzog seems to have belong. Me on the other hand, I'd like to execute thought out vision, which I believe to be a pillar of cinema.

Charles Camp My expectations going in to this film were pretty high given its critical acclaim and reputation. Grizzly Man is the only other Herzog film I have seen and it happens to be my current favorite documentary of all time, so needless to say I was quite excited to see another film by him. And I'm happy to report that, although on a first viewing I didn't love it to quite the same degree as Grizzly Man, Aguirre: The Wrath of God definitely did not disappoint. I was quite interested to see what Herzog's style would be like as a filmmaker working with his own script and actors rather than as a documentarian. Based only on this film, he definitely seems to have a very deliberate, methodical air to his direction. The entire film is very even-toned and it slides along at a steady pace that feels neither fast nor slow. There is definitely an emotional coldness to the film that feels almost Kubrickian. None of the characters are very relatable or likable; quite the contrary in fact - they are consumed by greed, selfishness and delusions of grandeur, our "hero" in particular. Thus, there is an emotional distance between the audience and the characters that is definitely reminiscent of a Kubrick film.And ironically, despite the fact that I turned to this movie as my first Herzog non-documentary, the film almost feels like a documentary. The way the film is shot with hand-held camera and without any pomp or dramatization makes everything feel so real and authentic. It's very obvious that everything in the film was done for real on location and that is to its advantage as you really feel like you're there with these men rather than just watching a dramatization.This ultra-realism also works very well in bringing the themes of the film through and making them resonate. The film is clearly about man's misguided and even delusional thirst for power. Aguirre embodies this more than anyone in the film - a man with very clear delusions of grandeur who fancies himself a god despite clear evidence that his expedition is futile and doomed to failure. Klaus Kinski gives a spectacular performance in this role which is even more impressive given his relatively minimal amount of dialogue. He just has such an ominous presence on screen, his face perpetually twisted in a snarl, and he becomes almost hypnotic to watch as the film goes on.And it isn't just Aguirre. Essentially every Spaniard in the film engages in treachery at least once, including the holy man who utters one of the most searing lines of the film: "You know, my child, for the good of our Lord, the Church was always on the side of the strong." Ouch. These men commit mutiny, elect "emperors", make grand declarations of land ownership, and hold trials with their only audience being the indifferent tangle of vegetation and the raging river. The realism of the film perfectly captures how delusional these men really are as they parade around with their notions of power and fame in the middle of the jungle. Nothing could be further from the truth as they slowly succumb one by one, lost in a foreign and foreboding land. And their impossible goal of finding El Dorado, the imaginary city of gold, is the perfect metaphor for their delusion. A great strength of the film is that the way this theme is executed feels so universal. Herzog isn't just showing us the madness of these particular men in this particular scenario, he's showing us the madness of man in general. He showing us that these illusions of power are just that - illusions. In the grand scheme of the world and the universe, the titles of men are meaningless and transient.Aguirre: The Wrath of God is a powerful film and an impressive achievement from a filmmaking perspective. However, it is definitely not a movie that is out to entertain or dazzle its audience. It is a film of ideas rather than plot or spectacle. Really the only criticism I can make of the film on a first viewing is that there were some moments of humor which felt a bit out of place given the tone of the film - a man makes a quip after being shot with an arrow or a decapitated head speaks its last word. There is definitely an absurdity to the film and you could argue that these scenes play to that, but I felt these moments perhaps went a bit to far and were too cartoony to mesh well within the film's fabric of realism. Regardless, it's a minor complaint which does very little to sour an otherwise excellent film.

avik-basu1889 Werner Herzog's 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God' is not a film that can be merely watched, it has to be experienced. While watching the film, I truly thought that Herzog didn't just convey a story, he put a bit of his heart and soul on screen. The film stars Herzog's frequent collaborator, the eccentric and volatile Klaus Kinski who plays the titular role of Aguirre. Although the story is loosely based on real events, the script is pretty much a fictional account of the travels of a Spanish soldier named Lope de Aguirre who leads a group of conquistadores and their Indian slaves down the Amazon river in South America to find El Dorado, the city of gold.The film commences with a prolonged single shot of the line of conquistadores with the Indian slaves going down a mountain and the shot is slightly obscured by the mist. The camera stays stationary while it captures the scene. It is a shot that is immensely beautiful in its surrealism while also being thematically transcendental. The men look like ants walking in a straight line. They have huge ambitions of conquering lands and becoming rich, but they are nothing but tiny ants in comparison to the vastness of the mountain and the surrounding elements of nature. Popol Vuh's haunting music lends a spiritual undertone to the entire film.I believe this film is about man's obsession with power, fame and superiority and how God in the form of nature can be completely indifferent to these obsessions and ambitions. I think the principle of accepting nature as God like it is done in some religions like Hinduism is the basis of interpreting the meaning of the film. When the conquistadores led by Aguirre try to ransack nature, nature hits back. All the deaths happen off- screen. We are never shown anyone firing the arrows at the conquistadores. We just see the arrows flying towards them, almost creating the impression nature is fighting back and thwarting the greedy conquerors. This aspect of man's mad obsession falling prey to the nature's forces was clearly an inspiration for Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now'. Aguirre is the manifestation of the greed and lust for power that humanity can fall prey to internally. His obsession spreads through the others in the mission and anyone who questions Aguirre gets dealt with mercilessly. Considering that this film was the creation of a German filmmaker, I found it very difficult to not think about Hitler and Nazi Germany. Aguirre shares Hitler's colonial obsession with annexing other countries and conquering nations. We also get another similarity between Hitler and Aguirre in their desire to create a pure dynasty. The film's production and shooting processes have become infamous due to all the troubles that Herzog had to face in the form of lack of money, highly treacherous filming locations and the anger of the extremely volatile Klaus Kinski. But he kept on persisting and his obsession in making the film almost mirrors Aguirre's unflinching obsession to find 'El Dorado'. There are many signature shots of Herzog's surrealist film language like the shot of a ship hanging at the top of a tree, a scene where Aguirre holds a newborn sloth and is appreciating its beauty and telling his daughter how naive it is and how it has remained asleep for the major portion of its life, but we know that Herzog clearly wants to say that it is the humans who are sleeping and naive in trying to assert their superiority over nature. Herzog also critiques religion in the film. There is a clear distinction that Herzog establishes between organised religion and God. His guerilla style of filmmaking actually accentuates and captures the madness in the story instead of serving the purpose of being a gimmick. Apart from Werner Herzog, the other person whose name has to be mentioned is Klaus Kinski. Everyone mentions Anthony Hopkins in 'Silence of the Lambs' when talking about an actor having an immense impact and owning a film with very limited screen time, I think such a discussion should also include Kinski's portrayal of Aguirre. Even with limited screen time Kinski has an undeniably chilling impact. Every gesture and every mannerism of his is expressive. His character's madness and obsession gets expressed through his postures and his eyes. This is one of those legendary screen performances that not only ornaments the film, but also ends up elevating it.To end this review I will analyse the last shot of the film. The final images will stick with me forever due to the beauty and the depth of what's on screen. There are corpses lying everywhere on the raft. Aguirre is the sole figure still standing. He holds his dying daughter. We see Aguirre's hand soaked in his daughter's blood which figuratively conveys that her death is on his hands and in the bigger picture it establishes the perils of the coming generations due to the greed fuelled obsessions of their ancestors. Now we had earlier seen the soldiers torturing animals, but now a group of numerous monkeys are seen invading the raft, thus signifying nature completing its revenge. Aguirre is still holding on to his deluded obsessions and moving on. This is one of the most beautifully poignant ending to any film I have ever seen.Aguirre, the Wrath of God is a philosophical work of art. It is not for everybody and I can only recommend it to hardcore art-film lovers. But the themes explored in the film are giant-sized. I can't stop thinking about it even after days of watching the film.Aguirre says that he is the 'Wrath of God' and then looks directly at the camera. He thinks he will do whatever he wants and no one can stop him. His naivety prevents him from realising that he is not the 'Wrath of God', he is just a victim of the same.