Post by klep on Aug 3, 2020 6:46:40 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/3: Aguirre, the Wrath of God
MIND YOUR SURROUNDINGS WEEK!
It's immediately apparent in Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God that the film's conquistadors have no idea how to exist in the environment they're invading. The opening sequence sees them descending a steep mountainside into the Amazon jungle on the quest for El Dorado. They're wearing full armor and lugging with them heavy equipment like cannons. The indigenous slaves they're using as porters are shackled and chained, making it extremely difficult for them to do what's demanded of them. Most ludicrously, the expedition is also bringing two Spanish ladies in sedan chairs.
Aguirre is a film about hubris. The hubris of humanity thinking we can dominate nature, and in particular the hubris of white men believing themselves and their judgement infallible. The Spaniards have no idea how to operate in the jungle. They don't know what they can eat, they don't know how to move through it, and they definitely don't know how to fight in it. They're also unsurprisingly met with hostility by almost every group of indigenous people they encounter. Right from the start men are dying.
But while their numbers dwindle, the Spaniards' unearned confidence doesn't. Aguirre (Klaus Kinski, with German voiceover by the uncredited Gerd Martienzen) himself is unquestionably the most mad, but only the initial leader Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerra, voice by Lothar Blumhagen) and his wife Inez de Atienza (Helena Roja, voice by Uta Hallant) believe going forward is foolish. Well, them, and an unfortunate victim of Aguirre's tyranny. Ursua's immediate successor Don Fernando de Guzman (Peter Berling, voice by Heinz Theo Branding) is eager to assume the title of emperor, and delights himself by claiming random tracts of land they pass while aimlessly floating downriver for his new nation. And even the priest gets an evil glint in his eye thinking about the gold that awaits them, despite his protests that he seeks only to bring men to God.
Nature wins in the end, as it always does. What men aren't killed in ambushes or by Aguirre succumb to fever and malnourishment. All except Aguirre himself, who strides around the ruin of a raft ranting about the mighty nation he is destined to found. The jungle has conquered him, but he knows it not. All he is lord of is a bunch of disobedient monkeys, drifting uncontrollably down a river that will swallow him up.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/10: Born in Flames
THIS FILM KILLS FASCISTS WEEK!
Our next Movie of the Week is Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames, a documentary-like work of fiction exploring how the revolution came and still left the marginalized behind. Join us next week for our discussion of Born in Flames, available freely on Kanopy and the Criterion Channel, and for rent on iTunes.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/4: Meek's Cutoff
The next podcast pairing is a Kelly Reichardt frontier period piece double-feature with this and her new First Cow. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of Meek's Cutoff, available freely on Prime Video and the Criterion Channel and for rent in the usual places.
MIND YOUR SURROUNDINGS WEEK!
It's immediately apparent in Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God that the film's conquistadors have no idea how to exist in the environment they're invading. The opening sequence sees them descending a steep mountainside into the Amazon jungle on the quest for El Dorado. They're wearing full armor and lugging with them heavy equipment like cannons. The indigenous slaves they're using as porters are shackled and chained, making it extremely difficult for them to do what's demanded of them. Most ludicrously, the expedition is also bringing two Spanish ladies in sedan chairs.
Aguirre is a film about hubris. The hubris of humanity thinking we can dominate nature, and in particular the hubris of white men believing themselves and their judgement infallible. The Spaniards have no idea how to operate in the jungle. They don't know what they can eat, they don't know how to move through it, and they definitely don't know how to fight in it. They're also unsurprisingly met with hostility by almost every group of indigenous people they encounter. Right from the start men are dying.
But while their numbers dwindle, the Spaniards' unearned confidence doesn't. Aguirre (Klaus Kinski, with German voiceover by the uncredited Gerd Martienzen) himself is unquestionably the most mad, but only the initial leader Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerra, voice by Lothar Blumhagen) and his wife Inez de Atienza (Helena Roja, voice by Uta Hallant) believe going forward is foolish. Well, them, and an unfortunate victim of Aguirre's tyranny. Ursua's immediate successor Don Fernando de Guzman (Peter Berling, voice by Heinz Theo Branding) is eager to assume the title of emperor, and delights himself by claiming random tracts of land they pass while aimlessly floating downriver for his new nation. And even the priest gets an evil glint in his eye thinking about the gold that awaits them, despite his protests that he seeks only to bring men to God.
Nature wins in the end, as it always does. What men aren't killed in ambushes or by Aguirre succumb to fever and malnourishment. All except Aguirre himself, who strides around the ruin of a raft ranting about the mighty nation he is destined to found. The jungle has conquered him, but he knows it not. All he is lord of is a bunch of disobedient monkeys, drifting uncontrollably down a river that will swallow him up.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/10: Born in Flames
THIS FILM KILLS FASCISTS WEEK!
Our next Movie of the Week is Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames, a documentary-like work of fiction exploring how the revolution came and still left the marginalized behind. Join us next week for our discussion of Born in Flames, available freely on Kanopy and the Criterion Channel, and for rent on iTunes.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/4: Meek's Cutoff
The next podcast pairing is a Kelly Reichardt frontier period piece double-feature with this and her new First Cow. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of Meek's Cutoff, available freely on Prime Video and the Criterion Channel and for rent in the usual places.