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Don Lope de Aguirre travels down into the heart of the jungle in search of El Dorado. This is a tale of madness, treachery, and greed--and it is (one of) Herzog’s masterpiece(s). Kinski’s performance is both mesmerizing and menacing. Beautiful and poetic imagery inhabit each frame. When I first watched it, I was hypnotized from the start with the impressive opening shot of a huge mass of Spanish conquistadors and their native slaves working their way through treacherous mountain ranges and swamps--all with the dreamlike music of Popol Vuh droning in the background. But it was the end that really pulled me in: a shot that spins uncontrollably in a whirlpool, and all we see is the delusional Aguirre in a childlike battle with tiny monkeys. Power struggles and deceit infect everyone on the raft. When will it end? How will it end? Everyone but Aguirre seems to know.
