A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.
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Verdict: 🥇 MUST SEE (but not for everyone) Raw and unrelenting. The further they float “toward” El Dorado, the further they veer from their own humanity. Herzog’s ability to trudge through the mud and suffer hell to get the camera in front of truly terrified faces is uncanny. Klaus Kinski’s monologue is one for the record books, in a backwards way achieving his goal of cementing his fame.
“I am the great traitor. There must be no other.” A descent into madness fueled by delusion of grandeur and incompetence. Certain films touching the theme of “discovering new worlds” tend to sensationalize or romanticize these aspects, taking away from what actually happened and what was done in those places, usually by giving us a hero that changes sides and realizes their actions were wrong. There are no heroes in Aguirre, nor there are any redeeming qualities in its characters. It is full of delusion, greed, subordination and obsession, hunger for power and riches being lead by ignorance.