Aguirre, Wrath Of God

Screening Dates:
Sun 18 August 5:00pm

Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Cecilia Rivera, Guy Guerra, Helena Rojo

In German with English subtitles.

A tale of megalomania, metaphysics and doomed obsession in 16th-century Peru, Werner Herzog’s account of the quest for El Dorado is the high water mark of his inspired, deranged partnership with his “Best Fiend”, actor Klaus Kinski.

Newly restored, Herzog’s 1972 masterpiece is more breathtaking than ever, from the vast, dizzying  opening sequence of a procession picking its way through a pass in the Andes, to the final devastating outcome of colonial ambition and human folly. The film’s grandiose scale is amplified by Popol Vuh’s superb soundtrack, but contrasted with a disorienting attention to detail as monkeys, mice and butterflies cross paths with the headlong conquistadors.

For all his trademark excess, Kinski also shows himself capable of great insight and subtlety in a career-best performance as Aguirre, the expedition’s paranoid, maniacal leader.

***** “A classic that screams to be seen on the big screen” Total Film

***** The Guardian

***** Time Out

*****Little White Lies