Or; A Mutiny on the Amazon; Flotilla the Hun or One Goes Mad in a Boat.
After conquering Peru, a splinter army of Spanish soldiers decide to descend the Andes and follow the Amazon on a quest to find El Dorado, the mythical city of gold.
Mutiny and madness descend upon them, especially Aguirre, the second-in-command, who incites the mutiny. He's the wrath of God dontyaknow?! He's also a rather overbearing and pervy father. Eventually the group is picked off by the jungle through fever and starvation, but mostly by the cannibal natives who are rather handy with a spear.
It took me a good while to watch this film and the only enjoyment I was getting was from the naps it provided, but once it gets going, it's an enjoyable study of a megalomaniac moving into Bonkersville. To be fair, he never really lived that far away from there!
Herzog's eye for nature is prevalent throughout as the jungle slowly envelops the flotilla. The location shoot was apparently fraught with disaster and real life mutiny. Klaus Kinski threatened to walk. Werner Herzog threatened to shoot him if he did. Such real life drama has only added to the intensity of the film and the performances.
A degree of suspension of disbelief is necessary to cope with some ludicrousies. The two women in the group are spotless with whiter than white lacy frills to boot! A few of these 'spaniards' have a very Aryan look about them. Especially Kinski. Also when a captured native seems to be aware of the location of El Dorado and even points in the direction of the river bank he came from, they kill him because he drops the bible they try to convert him with (a bit harsh), then they just carry on down the river.
So, have patience. It is a slow start, but it's worth it in the end.
...and so's my wife!
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