Love is Colder than Death

Written, directed, edited, co-art directed, and starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Liebe ist kalter als der Tod (Love is Colder than Death) is the story of a pimp who is in a love triangle with one of his prostitutes and a fellow gangster as they plan a robbery. The film is an unconventional crime drama that explore a man trying to make his own mark in the world of crime while being in the middle of a love triangle as well as try to evade other crime syndicates and such. Also starring Hanna Schygulla and Ulli Lommel. Liebe ist kalter als der Tod is an intriguing yet offbeat film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

The film is a simple story in the world of crime as a gangster goes to Munich to meet up with a pimp, he had met some time earlier at an interview for a crime syndicate, as they plan a robbery with the pimp’s prostitute girlfriend. It’s a film that explores two guys and a woman who all embark into a love triangle as well as try to make it in their own amidst the watch of figures from a crime syndicate as well as the authorities. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s screenplay is quite minimalist as it is more about characters meeting each other and planning as well as moments where they wander around their surroundings as much of the film is set in Munich. The visiting gangster Bruno (Ulli Lommel) is someone, like the pimp Franz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder), both have been watched by this mysterious syndicate yet want to make their own marks. Helping them is Franz’s girlfriend Joanna (Hanna Schygulla) who isn’t fond of Bruno at first but realizes his value once Franz is suspected of killing a known gangster as she would spend some time with him.

Fassbinder’s direction also play into the simplistic tone of the story as he doesn’t really go for anything that is overly-stylized in terms of compositions. There aren’t a lot of close-ups nor wide shots in the film as it’s more about medium shots to capture the relationship between Bruno, Franz, and Joanna. Shot largely in Munich and areas near the city, Fassbinder would use some tracking shots for some of the exteriors in the city as well as a few movements in some of the interiors. Yet, much of Fassbinder’s direction involve him using the medium shots to create scenes in long takes to maintain some kind of theatricality in the acting. Also serving as the film’s editor under a pseudonym, Fassbinder does put in some jump-cuts in a few sequences as much of it is straightforward. Especially in some of the moments of violence where it does have element of style as it is a bit playful but also dark. Overall, Fassbinder creates an engaging yet exciting film about a gangster, a pimp, and a prostitute trying to start a robbery while being in a love triangle.

Cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann does excellent work with the film’s black-and-white cinematography as it has a grainy yet beautiful look in the way the daytime exterior scenes are shown as well as some of the interiors including some scenes at the department stores. Co-art director Ulli Lommel, along with Fassbinder, would do fantastic work in creating the sets such as the meeting room for the first scene as well as the apartment that Bruno and Joanna lived in. The sound work of Gottfried Hungsberg is terrific for the sound as it is mostly straightforward as well as low-key given to the film’s low-budget aesthetics. The film’s music by Peer Raben and Holger Munzer is superb for its mixture of blues, jazz, and rock to help create a chilling score with additional music presented from whatever is on the jukebox or on the radio.

The film’s brilliant cast feature some notable small roles from Peter Moland as an interrogator for the secret crime syndicate, Hannes Gromball as a client of Joanna who would come in at the wrong time, Irm Herrmann as a saleslady being conned by the trio, Peter Berling as a shoemaker who sells weapons, Monika Stadler as a waitress watching Bruno kill someone, and Katrin Schaake as a woman Bruno meets on a train on his way to Munich. Rainer Werner Fassbinder is excellent as Franz as a pimp that is trying to run his own business without the involvement of this syndicate as he copes with his relationship with Joanna and feelings for Bruno. Hanna Schygulla is amazing as Joanna as a prostitute who is also Franz’s girlfriend that is coping with the planning as well as the presence of Bruno whom she isn’t fond of at first. Finally, there’s Ulli Lommel in a marvelous performance as Bruno as a gangster that is also trying to make it on his own as he wants to create a partnership with Franz while becoming infatuated with Joanna as well as be very cunning in handling business.

Liebe ist kalter als der Tod is a remarkable film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Featuring a great cast as well as a compelling script, it’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules while not being afraid to give in toward it low-budget aesthetics. In the end, Liebe ist kalter als der Tod is a marvelous film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) - The Merchant of Four Seasons - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - World on a Wire - Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - (Jailbait) - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) - Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) - The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) - Lola (1981 film) - Veronika Voss - Querelle

© thevoid99 2017

2014 Blind Spot Series: Satantango

Based on the novel by Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Satantango is the story of a collective farming community closing down in the final days of Communist Hungary as a group try to leave only to be stopped by strange circumstances. Directed by Bela Tarr and screenplay by Tarr and Krasznahorkai with a screen story by Mihaly Vig, Peter Dobai, and Barna Mihok, the film is an meditative exploration into a world that is ending as they endure a series of events that would change their lives. Starring Mihaly Vig, Putyi Horvath, and Laszlo Lugossy. Satantango is a mesmerizing yet ominous film from Bela Tarr.

Set in the final days of Communist Hungary, the film explores a group of people living in a desolate farming community that is in absolute ruins as they learn that two men who were presumed dead have returned and to reclaim the community. It is told in twelve chapters where a group of people deal with the return of two men as well as the bleakness of their surroundings as they try to pull together all they have left. While coping with the arrival of Irimias (Mihaly Vig) and his friend Petrina (Putyi Horvath), a lot of things occur where a lot of mistrust and tension begin to emerge as Irimias would make his arrival with news about his plans causing a lot of suspicion. It’s a film that doesn’t have a traditional narrative as it essentially follows the steps of a tango which is six steps forwards and six steps back which is odd for a narrative structure. Yet, the film’s script prefers to play with that structure and to tell this story of a world that is collapsing as the people who live in this farming community have no idea what is going to happen.

The film is told from several perspectives such as six couples, a child (Erika Bok), an ailing doctor (Peter Berling), and several other characters. It all plays into this world set in this desolate farming community that is very removed from the rest of the world as they’re dealing with heavy autumn rain and gathering whatever money that is left. Unfortunately, there is also distrust as Schmidt (Laszlo Lugossy) is suspicious that his friend Futaki (Miklos Szekely B.) is sleeping with Mrs. Schmidt (Eva Almassy Albert) who has grown tired of the farming life as the other residents would cope with alcohol at one point in the film. Yet, the film’s script also have these moments where there’s a scene that is happening while something else is happening at the same time but in another chapter such as the doctor’s encounter with the child Estike who would watch the residents dance in a drunken manner. Plus, there’s a sequence where residents would leave their farming community following their meeting with Irimias as he would walk back to the city with Petrina and their friend Sanyi (Andras Bodnar) about their plans.

Bela Tarr’s direction is truly entrancing not just in the way he would compose the film but also maintain a sense of minimalism in his presentation. Yet, it’s a presentation that will not be everyone’s cup of tea as Tarr strays away from many of the conventions of cinema as a film with 432-minute running time only features a total of under 200 shots and shots that range from 8-11 minutes in total. Much of it involves a lot of gazing shots of these dreary and damp locations set in a world that is just completely removed from the modern world. Tarr’s direction includes a lot of these very stylized tracking and dolly shots to capture the world such as the opening eight-minute shot of a herd of cows walking into this desolate land as it would set the tone for everything that is to come from the film.

While there are a lot of close-ups, medium shots, and some beautiful wide shots, it is presented in a manner that is quite meticulous in its approach to framing yet there’s a looseness in how some of the actors would play out in a scene such as the drunken dance at this small restaurant. Some of it would include these elaborate crane shots that are very entrancing to watch as it plays into not just the lives of people that might seem ordinary but also in how they cope with their situations and the impending uncertainty of what is to come. Many of the shots and presentation do take a while to get things going as it’s pacing is very slow where it definitely isn’t for everyone. Especially as there’s moments in the film that doesn’t feature any dialogue while the music score is only used sparingly as it adds to this unconventional presentation that will annoy the most impatient viewer.

The direction definitely broadens itself in the many stories and characters that it has where Tarr definitely goes to great lengths to flesh out many of the characters as well as fill as many ambiguities into the actions of Irimias and the struggle of the doctor who is only seen briefly as he is sort of this outsider that either doesn’t know about Irimias or is in denial of what is happening. There is so much that occurs in the story that includes Estike trying to torture her cat in an act of rage because she’s being neglected. It is Tarr showcasing a world that is removed from everything else as time doesn’t even exist in some cases where they would all embark into an uncertain future while many of Irimias’ intention becomes more ambiguous as it goes on as it relates to what is happening behind the scenes. Overall, Tarr crafts a very chilling yet intoxicating film about the final days of a farming community in Communist Hungary.

Cinematographer Gabor Medvigy does amazing work with the film‘s very grimy black-and-white photography to not just find beauty in this very ugly and depression location but also in the intimacy in some of the lighting as it is one of the film‘s major highlights. Editor Agnes Hranitzky does terrific work with the editing as it‘s very straightforward with very few elements of style as it only cuts to capture some of the dramatic impact. Production designer Sandor Kally, with set decorators Sandor Katona and Bela Zsolt Toth, does excellent work with the set design from the look of the homes many of the residents live to the restaurant and city offices that are present in the film.

Costume designers Janos Breckl and Gyula Pauer do nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly ragged with the exception of Irimias who carries this look of coolness with his Fedora hat. Sound mixer Gyorgy Kovacs does fantastic work with the sound to play into the texture of the sound in its locations as well as the sense of dread and uncertainty that looms in the film. The film’s music by Mihaly Vig is a largely electronic score that definitely recalls the music of Russian composer Edvard Artimev in terms of its melancholia as it is truly mesmerizing in its dissonant yet ambient presentation while the soundtrack also includes some accordion music played on location.

The film’s remarkable cast includes some noteworthy performances from Alfred Jarai as the intellectual Halics, Erzsebet Gaal as Halics’ wife, Owen Calvert as the village fool, Andras Bodnar as Irimias and Petrina’s associate Sanyi, Janos Derzsi as the skeptical Kraner, Iren Szajki as Kraner’s wife, and Erika Bok as the young girl Estike. Peter Berling is superb as the ailing yet reclusive doctor who often observes everything from his house as he is troubled by his alcoholism and his poor health. Miklos Szekely B. is terrific as Futaki who conspires with Schmidt into collecting money to do something only to be stopped by Irimias as Futaki also tries to hide his secret affair with Schmidt’s wife. Laszlo Lugossy is fantastic as Schmidt as a farmer who is trying to gather money so he can start on his own unaware of what to do and what Irimias is planning.

Eva Almassy Albert is amazing as Schmidt’s wife who tries to hide her affair while comprehending everything that is happening as she is the most reluctant to trust Irimias though she doesn’t speak out about it. Putyi Horvath is excellent as Irimias’ partner-in-crime Petrina who questions what Irimias is doing while getting things done for Irimias. Finally, there’s Mihaly Vig in a phenomenal performance as Irimias as this man of great charisma and power who seems like a reincarnation of Satan himself as he tries to sway the residents into giving him money so he can rebuild their community while being very cagey about his intentions.

Satantango is an incredible film from Bela Tarr. Armed with gorgeous visuals and an ambitious presentation that defies the concept of what cinema could be, it’s a film that is very challenging but also engrossing in its exploration into the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. While it is definitely not a film for everyone due to its slow pacing and very minimalist approach to storytelling. It is a film with a very bold take on a story of a world that is changing in a place that is very removed from that world. In the end, Satantango is a tremendously evocative film from Bela Tarr.

Bela Tarr Films: (Family Nest) - (The Outsider (1981 film)) - (The Prefab People) - (Autumn Almanac) - (Damnation) - Werckmeister Harmonies - (The Man from London) - The Turin Horse

© thevoid99 2014

Cobra Verde

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/23/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Five years after the brilliant Fitzcarraldo, Werner Herzog reunites with actor Klaus Kinski for another film about a flamboyant 19th Century Brazilian bandit who is sent on an impossible mission to Africa to re-open a slave trade only to realize he is in a trap. The film was called Corba Verde with Kinski playing the title role written and directed by Herzog, based on Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel The Viceroy of Ouidah. The fifth and final collaboration they made, it is considered the weakest film they made, particularly to Herzog himself. Also starring King Ampaw, Jose Lewgoy, Salvatore Basile, Peter Berling, and His Royal Highness, Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein. Cobra Verde, despite some moments is an enchanting yet frustrating film marking the final collaboration between Herzog and Kinski.

After walking through a desert after killing a mining boss, Francisco Manoel da Silva aka Cobra Verde walks through the desert barefoot as he enters into a town where he's a known bandit. After entering a restaurant, he meets an eccentric bartender where he continues on his journey where upon stumbling into another town, he sees a slave trying to escape only to run into his presence. Impressed by his appearance and fearless personality, a sugar plantation owner named Don Octavio Coutinho (Jose Lewgoy) decides to hire da Silva as his new plantation manager. What Coutinho doesn't realize is that da Silva is Cobra Verde where after impregnating all his three daughters, da Silva reveals himself as Cobra Verde. Realizing the trouble he's in, Coutinho and Captain Fraternidade (Salvatore Basile) decides to send da Silva on a mock-mission to go to Elmina, West Africa to re-open the slave trade claiming he needs more slave for his growing plantation.

Cobra Verde along with Captain Pedro Vincente (Benito Stefanelli) go by ship to the West African coast to find an old, abandoned fort where they meet a tribe and a priest (Peter Berling) along with a former drum major named Taparica (King Ampaw). After getting rid of the priest, Cobra Verde does the impossible in restoring the fort and re-opening the slave trade with the fort where he believes that ships are coming to load up the slaves. Unfortunately, Verde and Taparica are suddenly captured by a group of tribesmen to the land of Abomey, House of the Kings where they meet the lavish King Bossa Ahadee (Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein). Believing that Cobra Verde is the devil because he's white, he hopes to execute him but a revolt in the King's nephew with a group of tribesmen as Cobra Verde and Taparica decide to help out the nephew.

Organizing a large group of women as an army, Cobra Verde succeeds in overthrowing the king where he becomes Viceroy. With the help of the new king, he believes that he has a chance to re-open the slave trade as Vincente returns. Just as things seem to go good, changing times and the realization that he was part of a scheme forced Cobra Verde to make an escape where he eventually meets his doom.

While the story of Cobra Verde is interesting, there's seem to be something off-guard in what Herzog wanted to say. Yet, whereas in Fitzcarraldo five years before, Herzog told the story of a dreamer. Here in this film, he tells the story of a mad, intimidating bandit who ends up not fitting in into any kind of world where he meets his own doom. While there's some great scenes in the film, there are parts where instead of exploiting some kind of land or a group of people. Herzog is really exploiting Kinski at some very humilating moments where it's like he's either having fun with him or is trying to punish him. Then there's some parts of the directing where Herzog isn't sure what to do and his script really falls by the wayside in thinking where he's forced to shoot Kinski at the moment and nothing genuine is coming out. Still, there's some great moments in the film, particularly the ending that really represents a lot of irony in comparison to Fitzcarraldo in its idea of dragging a ship on top of a mountain. Yet, in some respects, I think Herzog was trying to make the ending as a way to reveal how far his collaboration with Kinski.

The cinematography of Viktor Ruzicka is wonderfully exquisite with its shadows of sunlight of some of the film's interior settings in the West African scenes while the exteriors in Africa and Brazil are wonderfully shot. The editing by Maximiliane Mainka has some good moments but in some of the film's opening scenes are very spotty while a few other scenes are slowed down pretty badly. Production designer Ulrich Bergfelder does some excellent work in re-creating the 19th Century plantation of Coutinho while costume designer Gisela Storch does great work in the clothing of the Brazilian women and the colors of the clothes in Africa. Sound editors Friedrich M. Dosch and Hans Zeiler do great work in capturing the atmosphere of the sound and the music of Africa. Longtime composers Popol Vuh bring the same, haunting operatic score that isn't as memorable other scores.

The casting is interesting where standout performances from King Ampaw and Benito Stefanelli are good while Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein is excellent as the King. Jose Lewgoy is pretty good as the plantation owner while minor performances like Salvatore Basile as the Don's captain was underused and Peter Berling is wasted as a priest. Then, we have Klaus Kinski in what is really an uneven performance. There's time where Kinski can be restrained in this intimidating presence yet there's not enough to reveal in why he's this crazed bandit. At times when he goes nuts, it's exciting but at other times, it's over-the-top where the audience isn't sure if he's acting or not. It's a performance that's disappointing comparing to his other work with Herzog while it's also has a sense of awareness that he seems tired and burned out. Despite a few uninspiring moments, it's a decent performance from Kinski.

***Additional DVD Content Written & Posted on 1/30/07 w/ Additional Edits***

The Region 1 DVD from the 2000 Herzog-Kinski box set from Anchor Bay presents the film in a different widescreen presentation of 1:77:1 ration for 16x9 TVs with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound in German and Mono for English plus English subtitles. With special features including talent bios for Kinski and Herzog and a theatrical trailer, there's also another commentary track from Herzog and Norman Hill. This time around, Herzog reveals the frustration of making the film with Kinski. The film's original cinematographer Thomas Mauch, who shot Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo, quit after five days due to Kinski's behavior where Herzog admits, letting him go was one of the worst things he's done. While Herzog watches and enjoys a few moments, most of the time, he seems troubled in watching the film since he admits, it's not one of his favorites. He was inspired to do the film because of novelist Bruce Chatwin where Herzog did another film, 1984's Where the Green Ants Dream, that was inspired by Chatwin. Though Herzog admits in trying to be faithful to Chatwin, who did like the film in the end before his death in 1989, Herzog still admits frustration largely due to Kinski. 

Mentioned the commentary and accompanying essay by Jim Knipfel, Kinski was on the verge of making a film about Paganini which Kinski wrote, directed, and starred in and originally wanted Herzog to direct it. Herzog talks about Kinski bringing an atmosphere that really disturbed him and the film's final scene was the last thing they shot as Herzog comments that by this point, it was over and he wanted to work with Kinski no more. On November 23, 1991, Klaus Kinski died of a heart attack in Northern California at the age of 65.

***End of DVD Tidbits

Despite some wonderful moments and some bad, uninspiring moments, Cobra Verde is still a decent and at times, entertaining film from Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. While it's something more for completists of Herzog and Kinski, it's got moments where audiences can exciting yet there's moments where audiences will wonder what's going on. Despite that it's unfocused and frustrating at times, Cobra Verde is still worth watching just for the fact that it's the last Herzog-Kinski film.

Werner Herzog Films: Feature Films: (Signs of Life) - (Even the Dwarfs Started Small) - (Fatana Morgana) - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - (The Enigma of Kasper Hauer) - (Heart of Glass) - Stroszek - Nosferatu, the Vampire - Woyzeck - Fitzcarraldo - (Where the Green Ants Dream) - (Scream of Stone) - (Lessons of Darkness) - (Invincible (2001 film)) - (The Wild Blue Yonder) - Rescue Dawn - (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) - (My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?) - Queen of the Desert

Documentaries: (The Flying Doctors of East Africa) - (Handicapped Future) - (Land of Silence and Darkness) - (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner) - (How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck) - (La Soufrière) - (Huie's Sermon) - (God's Angry Man) - (Ballad of the Little Soldier) - (The Dark Glow of the Mountains) - (Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun) - (Echoes from a Somber Empire) - (Jag Mandir) - (Bells from the Deep) - (The Transformation of the World into Music) - (Death for Five Voices) - (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) - My Best Fiend - (Wings of Hope) - (Pilgrimage) - (Ten Thousand Years Older) - (Wheel of Time) - (The White Diamond) - Grizzly Man - Encounters at the End of the World - Cave of Forgotten Dreams - (Into the Abyss) - (On Death Row) - From One Second to the Next

© thevoid99 2012

Fitzcarraldo

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/14/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Werner Herzog, Fitzcarraldo is the fourth and possibly, the greatest collaboration between Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski. The film tells the story of a man, in the turn of the century, who has dreams of bringing the opera to the masses as he and his companions go on a steamboat to the Amazon where at one point, he tries to take the boat over a mountain in order to get to the other side of the river. One of the most ambitious films of the 1980s, the film is shot on location in the Amazon as Herzog tells the story of a dreamer trying to achieve the impossible as Kinski plays the title role of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald aka Fitzcarraldo. Also starring Claudia Cardinale, Jose Lewgoy, Paul Hittscher, and Peter Berling. Fitzcarraldo is a sprawling, magnificent film from Werner Herzog and its star, Klaus Kinski.

Living in the small town of Iquitos at the Amazon in Peru, Fitzcarraldo and his wife Molly (Claudia Cardinale) arrive at an opera house to hear the voice of Enrico Caruso. After meeting the opera manager (Peter Berling), Fitzcarraldo announces he wants to stage a grand opera in Iquitos though many laugh as Fitzcarraldo wants to prove everyone that he'll do it. Though Molly runs a brothel and Fitzcarraldo produces ice in different parts of the town, he attends a party with several rubber barons as they all mock Fitzcarraldo with the exception of Don Aquilino (Jose Lewgoy). Aquilino wants a piece of unclaimed land down south in the Ucayala Falls that he needs to exploit it. The only reason it had been unclaimed was due to dangerous rapids on the other side called Pongo das Mortes as Fitzcarraldo gets a map where the only way through is to go to the Pachitea river that features a group of dangerous tribes. Fitzcarraldo makes a deal with Aquilino to do the job as he and Molly buy Aquilino's old steamboat with his mechanic Cholo (Miguel Angel Fuentes). With a crew that includes the drunk cook Huerequeque (Hurequeque Enrique Bohorquez) and a Dutch captain named Orinoco Paul (Paul Hittscher), Fitzcarraldo is on his way to get funding for his opera.

Fitzcarraldo and his crew of the newly repaired steamboat named Molly Aida make way upstream towards the Pachitea around the Amazon. Stopping at an old railroad station that Fitzcarraldo owned, the team gets rails as Fitzcarraldo ensures the old station manager (Grande Otelo) that the railroad will be restored. After an encounter with two priests (Dieter Milz and Salvador Godinez) about the tribe, Huerequeque reveals to know a lot about the tribe where Fitzcarraldo and crew continue to trek towards the sinister Pachitea as things become tense when the tribe's music is heard. Fitzcarraldo counters it with the voice of Enrico Caruso where Huerequeque reveals a myth about a man in white who might rid of the evil that's been surrounded. With some of the crew, except for Cholo, Paul, and Huerequeque, having left the boat due to this curse, Fitzcarraldo and the remaining crew encounter the tribe who believe Fitzcarraldo is the man that they believe will lift the evil spirits away from their land.

After observing the land and its beauty, Fitzcarraldo needs to get back to Iquitos only to realize the tribe has blocked the way in the Pachitea stream forcing Fitzcarraldo to make a daring plan by dragging the ship to the other side. The only way to get to the Ucayala falls is to go to the other side as Fitzcarraldo has a strange plan of dragging the steamship from one side of the mountain to the other. Despite months of work and everything else including false starts that proved to be fatal, Fitzcarraldo at first seemed defeated but his drive to dream the impossible makes him determined as he hopes to do the impossible, even if he has to go through the cursed rapids of the Pongo das Mortes.

Easily the most ambitious and grandest of Herzog's films, Fitzcarraldo is truly Herzog in every shape and form from its conflict of man vs. nature to doing the impossible. The film is about dreamers achieving what could be impossible and the result is truly magnificent in every frame shot. While the film does have similarities to another Herzog film, 1972's Aguirre, the Wrath of God, about a dark journey in the Amazon river, where both Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo embark on dark, treacherous journeys into the heart of the Amazon. Unlike the doomed, manic Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo has an innocence and determination that's more human as he embarks on this journey just to have this crazy dream of bringing the Grand Opera to a little poor town of Amazon natives. Still, this film is really about Herzog himself, who manages to do something impossible and succeeds in the end. Really, the film is about the experience of doing something to achieve a destiny that many refuse to believe in.

Herzog's screenplay is wonderfully structured in the first act being about Fitzcarraldo wanting to bring an opera to Iquitos despite those against him while the second is about the journey into the Amazon. The third and most climatic act is about that ship being dragged on top of a mountain and the journey afterwards in which Fitzcarraldo has become a character that's more human in everything he's experienced. It's really due to Herzog's ability to portray man in a way that's he is completely relatable to anyone that is a dreamer. Fitzcarraldo is really every person who has a dream and wants to achieve it. It's his most personal and its filled with a lot of heart and joy, it's truly Herzog at his finest.

Herzog's direction is also ambitious by shooting the film entirely on location in Iquitos and parts of the Amazon. Herzog, known for his work in documentary, brings a documentary-like feel to the film where the audience isn't sure what's going to happen or if a character like Fitzcarraldo is going to succeed. Then there's the climatic scene of the steamboat being dragged on top of a mountain. The steamboat is real and this really happened. No film or film director has done something like this by actually doing something with a cast of hundreds of people including a few accomplished actors giving into the emotions and everything that could go wrong or could go right. It's a very unpredictable film as Herzog really pulls on all the stops and sees what he can come up with as he delivers a knockout of a film. Plus, it should be noted that Hollywood has probably never done something like this nor would they since they can't work with someone as fearless and as driven as Werner Herzog.

Cinematographer Thomas Mauch brings a wonderful visual scope to the landscape of the Amazon in its beauty and treachery with wonderful, long shots of the boat in the river during sunset. Mauch's photography is exquisite and harrowing in its documentary-style where it adds all sorts of poetic imagery to the film's exterior look of the Amazon while adding some wonderful shadows and lighting style to the film's interior scenes in Iquitos. Editor Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus does wonderful work in the editing in bring a nice, elliptical pace to the film and long cuts to reveal a scene in its 157-minute running time. Production designers Henning von Gierke and Ulrich Bergfelder do wonderful work in creating the posh houses of the barons and opera managers while doing extensive work on the steamboat which serves as a great character. Costume designer Gisela Storch does great work in the film's costumes for the first act from the period dresses that Claudia Cardinale wore to the white suit that Klaus Kinski wears throughout the entire film. Sound recordists Juarez Dagoberto Costa and Zeze d'Alice do excellent work in capturing the sounds of the Amazon, including one great scene of the tribal drumming mixed in with the opera music in one scene.

Longtime collaborators Popol Vuh and its leader Florian Fricke bring a wonderfully operatic, atmospheric score filled with guitar, choir-like vocal arrangements, and melodic textures that adds a lot of dream-like quality to some of the film's scenery. With a mix of traditional, tribal music, the soundtrack is filled with a lot of opera cuts from Richard Strauss, Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Puccini, and Guiseppe Verdi. The soundtrack is wonderfully amazing and the mixing of tribal and opera makes total perfect sense in its rhythm and intensity.

The film's casting is truly inspiring since a lot of the natives and locals in Iquitos were used for realism while David Perez Espinosa is given a memorable performance as the tribal chief along with notable small performances from Dieter Milz, Salvador Godinez, Grande Otelo, and from Aguirre, Peter Berling. Huerequeque Enrique Bohorquez is hilarious as the drunkard cook whose crazy idea of how to get the ship on top of the mountain is pure comedy as he brings humor to some of the film's tense moments. Miguel Angel Fuentes is excellent, skillful mechanic Cholo whose awareness of the Amazon makes him a wonderful supporting character in making sure that Fitzcarraldo does what he is yearning for. Paul Hittscher is great as the weary but experienced captain who is really the moral conscious of the film as he wonders if he, Fitzcarraldo, and their crew are doing the right thing. Jose Lewgoy is good as Don Aquilino who helps Fitzcarraldo fund his big dream while showing what he must do in order to achieve it. Though she's only in half of the film, Claudia Cardinale is excellent as Molly, who is the great supporter of Fitzcarraldo while believing that he can do it as she really serves her role very well.

Finally, there's Klaus Kinski in what has to be one of his greatest performance ever in film. Unlike the madness of Aguirre, the creepiness of Dracula in Nosferatu, or the fragility of Franz Woyzeck, Kinski brings a newfound sense of innocence into playing the title character of Fitzcarraldo. While Woyzeck showed his range as an actor, Kinski gives Fitzcarraldo something that audiences can relate to as a dreamer who wants to bring something for those around him. Kinski adds a complexity of emotions as a man who is aware he has to face realism where he nearly breaks and often ponders if he will fail or succeed. Kinski brings a maturity and wisdom to a man that is flawed and complex as Fitzcarraldo and this is truly the best performance he did in the films with Herzog.

***DVD Contents Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/30/07*** 

The Region 1 DVD, from the 2000 Herzog-Kinski box set from Anchor Bay, presents the film in the widescreen format of 1:85:1 ratio for 16x9 TVs along with 5.1 Dolby Digital and Surround Sound for both German and English with English subtitles. The special features includes the film's theatrical trailer in German plus the talent bios of Herzog, Kinski, and the music group Popol Vuh, and a still gallery featuring promotional shots, behind-the-scenes photos, and posters. The audio commentary track from Herzog, Norman Hill, and producer Lucki Stipetic is one of the most sobering commentaries into the making of the film which was notorious and revealed more deeply in Les Blank's 1982 documentary Burden of Dreams.

Herzog downplays the film's notorious troubles while admitting to some of the infamous ongoings. At one point, his cinematographer Thomas Mauch injured his hand during the shooting of the boat in the rapids due to the boat's collision with the rocks. In that same sequence, a cameraman, shooting from the bank of river was left out and angry at Herzog for being left behind. Herzog talks about his trouble with Kinski during the shoot since Kinski would often freak out in scenes with animals or anything that was going on during the shoot and Herzog had a hard time to calm him down. Herzog gives praise to Claudia Cardinale for being one of the few to calm down Kinski and making him smile on camera. It's one of the best commentaries that reveals the troubled nature and accusations Herzog had received during the film.

***End of DVD Tidbits

Fitzcarraldo is truly one of the most ambitious and spectacular films that delivers and more that could only come from the mind of Werner Herzog. Featuring a towering performance from Klaus Kinski, it is truly a film like no other that is out there. Notably as it actually does the impossible by actually dragging a steamship on top of a mountain. It's definitely one of those films that anyone who has never seen a Werner Herzog film must see for its sense of ambition and willingness to do whatever to tell a grand story. In the end, Fitzcarraldo is a marvelous film from Werner Herzog and its star Klaus Kinski.

Werner Herzog Films: Feature Films: (Signs of Life) - (Even the Dwarfs Started Small) - (Fatana Morgana) - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - (The Enigma of Kasper Hauer) - (Heart of Glass) - Stroszek - Nosferatu, the Vampyre - Woyzeck - (Where the Green Ants Dream) - Cobra Verde - (Scream of Stone) - (Lessons of Darkness) - (Invincible (2001 film)) - (The Wild Blue Yonder) - Rescue Dawn - (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) - (My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?) - Queen of the Desert

Documentaries: (The Flying Doctors of East Africa) - (Handicapped Future) - (Land of Silence and Darkness) - (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner) - (How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck) - (La Soufrière) - (Huie's Sermon) - (God's Angry Man) - (Ballad of the Little Soldier) - (The Dark Glow of the Mountains) - (Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun) - (Echoes from a Somber Empire) - (Jag Mandir) - (Bells from the Deep) - (The Transformation of the World into Music) - (Death for Five Voices) - (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) - My Best Fiend - (Wings of Hope) - (Pilgrimage) - (Ten Thousand Years Older) - (Wheel of Time) - (The White Diamond) - Grizzly Man - Encounters at the End of the World - Cave of Forgotten Dreams - (Into the Abyss) - (On Death Row) - From One Second to the Next

Related Review: Burden of Dreams

© thevoid99 2012

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/1/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Written and directed by Werner Herzog, Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (Aguirre: The Wrath of God) tells the story of the travels of a crazed conquistador in search of the lost city of gold. Starring Klaus Kinski, in his first of films with Herzog, in the title role. The film is a mediation on madness and ambition through the harsh jungles of the Amazon. Shot on location in Macchu Picchu and the Peruvian jungles, the film reveals the harsh realities of nature through the eyes of a madman. Also starring Helena Rojo, Cecilia Rivera, Alejandro Repulles, Ruy Guerra, Del Negro, Peter Berling, Dany Ades, and Armando Polanah. Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes is a harrowing, psychological masterpiece from Werner Herzog.

It's the December of 1560 as a group of conquistadors, led by Bonzalo Pizarro (Alejandro Repulles), are walking down to the path of the Andes mountains after defeating the Incan empire. Hoping to return home or to a Christian sanctuary, Pizarro and his men are aware that the Indian slaves they acquired are dying and the food is becoming scarce. Pizarro lets Ursua (Ruy Guerra) in charge with Don Lope de Aguirre, second-in-command. Accompanied by Ursua's mistress Inez (Helena Rojo), Aguirre's daughter Flores (Cecilia Rivera), a small band of Indians, a monk named Brother Gaspar de Carvajal (Del Negro), and several soldiers, Ursua and Aguirre take their group of men into the harsh rivers of the Amazon. With the rivers becoming more intense and a raft filled with seven soldiers and two oarsman stuck on an eddy, the two other rafts stop on the other side of the shore wondering what to do.

Sending one of his men, Armando (Armando Polanah), to go down river and find a crossing to the other side, Ursua hopes to save the men stuck in the eddy. The next day, six of the soldiers and an oarsmen was killed as Armando noticed that two of them are missing as on their way back, one of them was trapped and immediately killed. Ursua feels that this mission has brought nothing but bad luck but Aguirre believes that the lost city of gold known as El Dorado is somewhere in the Amazon. Wounding Ursua and taking Armando as prisoner, Aguirre takes control making Guzman (Peter Berling) the new leader as he crowns him the new Emperor of El Dorado with the hope of conquering Spain in the same way Hernando Cortez did with Mexico.

After Armando breaks himself free from his prison, a public trial was held as Guzman decides to let Ursua go but without any power and his wealth to be split among soldiers and everyone else. With Ursua on board but refusing to speak, the remaining soldiers plus Inez, Flores, and Gaspar ride on a new raft as they trek onto the treacherous rivers of the Amazon. With a horse on the raft, things become tense with food becoming scarce as Guzman feasts on everything from fish that he took after an encounter with an Indian who was killed for spitting on the Bible. Though the quiet threat of other Indians surrounding the jungle is still making everyone else uneasy, Aguirre hopes to find and rid of them. Then when a brutal murder occurs on the raft, morale becomes pretty low with Aguirre now running things as Inez chose to leave. With people dying every day due to fever or the attacks of the Indians, Aguirre moves further into the river in which he continues on this absurd, suicidal journey to find El Dorado.

Largely inspired by the famed Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness, about a journey on the Congo rivers, clearly is instilled into the mind of Werner Herzog. In many ways, the film&#146s themes of greed and madness is really small when being compared to what the film is really all about. Man vs. nature in which Herzog seems to have a darker, cynical view about nature. Filled with very little dialogue and focusing on the emotions of the people on the boat, the film is told in two perspectives from voice-overs. Most of the voice-over is told from the perspective of Gaspar as if he's recalling everything in his diary. The second is from Aguirre whose mind has reached beyond the depths of reality into something that is indeed, maddening.

If Herzog's minimalist script builds a momentum into the doom that's to come. It's his directing that reveals the complex world of the Amazon jungle. While it's a world filled with beauty, there's also something sinister beneath it in its heart. Again, it comes from Heart of Darkness where Herzog explores and observes the behaviors of the characters while dealing with their complex`morale as they're riding into a suicidal journey led by this ambitious madman. It's in Herzog where the film reveals the cruelty that is in Mother Nature and how neglectful humanity is towards it.

Helping Herzog with his troubling vision is cinematographer Thomas Mauch whose hand-held camera work reveals the beauty and ugliness that is the Amazon jungle. Mauch's photography truly captures the complexity of the environment with its array of colors and light where it looks and feels like the Amazon. Editor Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus brings a stylized approach of editing with some jump-cuts and perspective cutting while adding a flow that is elliptical yet deliberate to build the momentum of the story in its madness. The sound work by Herbert Prasch is wonderfully brilliant in capturing the atmosphere and horror that is the Amazon jungle. The film's music features comical yet vibrant flute music in a scene accompanied by an Indian playing the flute. Most of the film's score is largely dominated by longtime Herzog composers Popol Vuh with their haunting, progressive-rock driven score filled with large arrangements of vocals and eerie synthesizer music.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled with notable small performances from Alejandro Repulles as Pizarro, Dany Ades as the irritant Perucho, and Edward Roland as the cautious black servant Okello. Cecilia Flores is excellent as Aguirre's observant daughter Flores while Armando Polanah is also good as the cautious Armando. Ruy Guerra is brilliant in his role as Ursua while Peter Berling is great as the greedy, indecisive Guzman. Helena Rojo is one of the best supporting performances as Inez, Ursua's mistress who sees nothing but trouble from the start as she is one of the film's more realistic, moral figures. Del Negro is really amazing in his role as Gaspar, a monk who has hopes to spread the word of Christ only to realize how cruel the world of nature is.

Finally, there's Klaus Kinski in what has to be one of the most terrifying and manic performances captured on film. Kinski commands every scene in the film where it's his striking blue eyes and face that really shows that it's his film and his only. Though Kinski allows himself to be restrained only when he needs to in scenes that shows his sensitivity towards his daughter. A lot of it is done with a kind of intensity to reveal the madness of his character. It's a very intimidating performance to see as Kinski drives the film to its depth of horror where he goes into this journey unaware that he's in a battle against nature. Overall, it's truly one of the most magnificent performances ever.

***DVD Content Written and Posted from Herzog-Kinski Box Set Review on 1/30/07***

From the Herzog-Kinski DVD Box Set from Anchor Bay. The DVD presents the film in its original, full-screen presentation ratio of 1:33:1 and 5.1. Dolby Digital Surround Sound for its original German language and Mono for the English dub. The DVD includes a theatrical trailer in both English and German along with the talent bios of Herzog and Kinski. The big special feature is a full audio commentary track from Herzog and Norman Hill. The commentary track is truly one of the most enjoyable as Herzog reflects on making the film while discussing its psychology and his views on nature. Herzog reveals that the camera he and Thomas Mauch used was a 35mm camera Herzog stole when he was in film school that he used in 9 films. Herzog admits that there wasn't much of a script written nor a lot of ideas were planned. He doesn't storyboard so everything was improvised. Herzog also discussed Kinski where at times, he can be sensitive and sweet but then, he has a side that's very unpredictable to the point that he almost killed an actor during filming. The commentary overall is insightful to the process of filmmaking and Herzog's own unique talents.

***End of DVD Tidbits

Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes is a marvelous yet captivating film from Werner Herzog that features a chilling performance from Klaus Kinski. Anyone who is interested in the works of Werner Herzog as a feature-film director will find this as a great introduction. Notably as it's among one of the great collaborations between himself and Klaus Kinski. In the end, Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes is an adventurous yet engaging film from Werner Herzog.

Werner Herzog Films: Feature Films: (Signs of Life) - (Even the Dwarfs Started Small) - (Fatana Morgana) - (The Enigma of Kasper Hauer) - (Heart of Glass) - Stroszek - Nosferatu the Vampire - Woyzeck - Fitzcarraldo - (Where the Green Ants Dream) - Cobra Verde - (Scream of Stone) - (Lessons of Darkness) - (Invincible (2001 film)) - (The Wild Blue Yonder) - Rescue Dawn - (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) - (My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?) - Queen of the Desert

Documentaries: (The Flying Doctors of East Africa) - (Handicapped Future) - (Land of Silence and Darkness) - (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner) - (How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck) - (La Soufrière) - (Huie's Sermon) - (God's Angry Man) - (Ballad of the Little Soldier) - (The Dark Glow of the Mountains) - (Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun) - (Echoes from a Somber Empire) - (Jag Mandir) - (Bells from the Deep) - (The Transformation of the World into Music) - (Death for Five Voices) - (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) - My Best Fiend - (Wings of Hope) - (Pilgrimage) - (Ten Thousand Years Older) - (Wheel of Time) - (The White Diamond) - Grizzly Man - Encounters at the End of the World - Cave of Forgotten Dreams - (Into the Abyss) - (On Death Row) - From One Second to the Next

© thevoid99 2012