Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes is a 1972 film by German director Werner Herzog. The principal character of the film is Lope de Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon river in South America, in search of a lost city of gold. Klaus Kinski stars as Aguirre.
The film opens with a haunting combination of sound and image (a Herzog trademark - see Fitzcarraldo and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser). Employing a sparse story and dialogue and utilising the mesmeric presence of Kinski, the film creates a compelling vision of madness and folly, counterpointed by the lush but unforgiving Amazonian jungle.
The soundtrack is composed and performed by Popol Vuh, a German progressive/ethno band, that also contributed to other Herzog films.
Herzog has acknowledged that the story line is a work of his imagination, notwithstanding the fact that several of the film's lead characters, Aguirre and Francisco Pizarro were historical figures.
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