“Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972)

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Grade: A+

Few films depict the folly of man better than director Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, The Wrath of God, a mesmerizing movie about the conquistadors’ ill-fated quest for El Dorado, shot on location in the beautiful yet unforgiving Amazon jungle. Art imitates life, as Herzog has his cast and crew descend the same mountains and sail the same rapids as their doomed 15^th century predecessors, deriving authenticity from madness, finding natural beauty in the heart of darkness — or vice versa.

Keeping with the theme, actor Klaus Kinski plays a character only slightly more psychotic than himself, delivering a believably messianic performance that fully earns the self-proclaimed “Wrath of God” moniker. His portrayal of Lope de Aguirre is one of the most magnetic movie villains ever, like a long-lost forefather to Anton Chigurh or Col. Kurtz. Add the spacey electric guitars and choir organs of new-age krautrock band Popol Vuh, and Aguirre, the Wrath of the God becomes a certified kosmische masterpiece.

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More by Werner Herzog

• Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) A+
• The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) A+
• Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) A-

More by Klaus Kinski

• Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) A+
• Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) A-