Aguirre, the Wrath of God

AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD Werner Herzog creates a visually stunning and haunting portrait of obsession and madness in AGUIRRE. Using recurring animal imagery, Herzog distills human behavior to its base, primeval instincts: the transportation of caged chickens down the formidable mountain; the mistreatment of a horse on the raft; the capture of a wild boar at a deserted village; the relocation of baby rats by its mother; the plague of monkeys in the final sequence. In essence, the noble ideal of propagating civilization and enlightening the indigenous people are manifestations of a deceptive goal - a rationalization for the innate greed and narcissism of men. Inevitably, the Spanish expedition’s “altruistic” cause - like the legendary city of El Dorado - proves to be a false, unattainable illusion. strictlyfilmschool.com