VERSUS THE SCARECROW EPISODE NINE: Yes! German Foreign Films. I decided to challenge myself and really open the doors of my film knowledge and take on “The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide”. It’s 808 pages of movies and movie reviews from some of the most knowledgeable movie people you don’t know. It’s a book put together by a staff that praises, and destroys, some of our favorites and not so favorites. You can read the rest of my series here.
Just a quick refresher: each episode, I’m going to tackle three films from three different categories. Two films will be films I’ve never seen before and one will be one I’ve seen before or own. For the new films, well, new to me, I’m going to review them like a typical FTS review using the TOAST Rating system. But, for the films I’ve seen, I’m going give a quick paragraph or two about why I like or don’t like the film. We’ll try to include the poster and trailer for each film. “….and here. We. Go!”
In this week’s episode, I put my cleverness aside and take a look at German Foreign films. I’ll be looking at Herzog’s Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972), Das Boot (1981), and I’ll be reflecting on the first German foreign film I ever watched: Lola Rennt (1998)
Aquirre: The Wrath of God (1972) Directed by Werner Herzog. Starring: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra and Helena Rojo. IMDB says: “In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.”
Aquirre is the story of a Spanish expedition (even though they all speak German) that travels from the mountains of Peru to the Amazon River all in order to find a fabled “Gold City”. You can pretty much guess that with a title like Aguirre: The Wrath of God, that the movie has a positive an uplifting ending and everyone survives as they laugh and play in the Gold City while the sun sets on another day of exploration and fun! Now if that would have happened, it might have saved this film, but from the beginning, much like the men in the film themselves, they are doomed. The film opens with the group trudging through a jungle and exploring their whereabouts. It takes them nearly ten minutes to establish this idea, clearly sending a sign that this hour and a half movie you’re about to watch is going to get much longer. After awhile, Don Lope de Aguirre (An unfavorable performance by Klaus Kinski) speaks of mutiny towards the groups leader and eventually seizes control, leading the group farther and farther down the rabbit hole to find this “Gold City”
The film doesn’t have much of a score to talk about but it is a rather pretty movie. As someone who will probably never make his way down to the Amazon, the vibrant colors of the animals and leaves stand out and give you something to appreciate as scenes drag on longer than they have to. Even the action scenes begin to drag and lull! At times I felt the Wrath of God as I sat and watched this movie unfold before my eyes. Even the dozens of monkeys that take shelter upon the expedition’s raft gave me no reprieve. What boggles me the most is how it can have such high remarks and praise from critics. The Kinski is at extremes at all times, leaving you to develop any type of relationship with his character. Through good and bad, you could care less what happens to Aguirre or the rest of the group.
I don’t recommend this movie unless you’re a completionist and you want to see ALL of Werner Herzog’s films. If that’s the case, be ready to feel the cinematic Wrath of God.
Check back tomorrow for my review of Das Boot and then again on Wednesday for the conclusion of episode nine with my reflection on Run Lola Run . And if you’re interested in more, you can find the rest of the Versus The Scarecrow series here.