Film Journal 1 – Aguirre: Der Zorn Gottes (The Wrath Of God)

Herzog’s first work with one of his favorite actors and self-proclaimed “dearest enemy”, Klaus Kinski, chronicles the vain searches of Spanish conquistadors to find the land of El Dorado. This mythical land, which contains quantities of gold and jewels, the likes of which no man has ever laid eyes on, is said to be just a few days up the river.
Once Gonzalo Pizarro has been tried, before the “emperor” of this new land, and proved to be unfit to lead them onward and guilty of mutinous intentions, Aguirre becomes obsessed with his plans to reign as ruler of South America. He forces his men to continue onward to the fabled El Dorado, and his obsession leads, inevitable, to insanity. Herzog’s direction plays a major role in the depiction of Aguirre’s insanity. Often there are shots of Aguirre staring menacingly beyond the camera. In addition to the insanity these long views reveal to the audience, they also underline the utter alienation and isolation Aguirre feels. He is completely, both physically and mentally, apart from all of civilization; this of course fuels his greed for land. The film ends with Aguirre giving his last monologue to the only creature who would listen: the monkey he has caught in his hand. Again, the direction indicates his insanity because the camera (all on shot) is spinning all around the raft, on which only the animals and Aguirre remain.
A theme prevalent in much of Herzog’s films is the desire for the unattainable. In the case of Aguirre: der Zorn Gottes, the unattainable is not only the land of El Dorado, but a place to proclaim as home in the distant continent. A similar theme is expressed in Woyzeck, when the town’s children come running up to Maria (Franz Woyzeck’s wife) and ask her to sing them a song. Instead, she tells them the story of a little girl who was born with no father and no mother. She travelled to the moon, the sun, and the stars—and none of these things were what she had hoped they would be. Now she sits alone in the universe crying.