Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

Herzog’s first trip into the jungle was hardly uncontroversial. On location, he stages the insane enterprise of a Spanish conquistador, who is searching for the legendary Eldorado and plans to found a new ideal state complete with a new human gender. A conqueror rather than an adventurer, he pursues his goal ruthlessly and lawlessly, which ends in failure as he drifts alone on the river with a troop of monkeys towards destruction. Imperialism and hubris, contempt for humanity and ignorance are the themes, with the greatest possible authenticity the goal. It was Herzog’s first collaboration with Klaus Kinski, the ideal casting for an obsessive of this kind.