On a lighter note, it is good to know that Aguirre is a very famous and influential film. For example, this famous character was inspired by the mannerisms of the character Aguirre in this film.
As you write about Aguirre, please answer two of the following questions or respond to something someone else wrote before you:
- In what was do you feel German post-holocaust guilt may have influenced the theme or tone of this film?
- What is the theme of this film? Explain.
- What did you like and dislike about this movie. Justify your response with specific examples.
- Why do you think this film has become so famous in the international film community?
I wasn't particularly impressed with this film. I didn't care about any of the characters, nor did I care about their plight. The whole thing felt kinda whiny and self-indulgent. I also thought that the armor looked fake... Though that might just be because I was looking for flaws after being told it was real.
ReplyDeleteIt was cool to see another country using their own language for a foreign one though. Makes me feel better about America doing it all the time.
I think the post-holocaust guilt influenced both the ending and the character motivations. They never found what they were looking for (didn't even know if it existed) and the evil characters never thought that they were being evil. I think he's using that to show how most of the German's had no idea what the Nazi party was after and didn't think it would be anything bad if they got it, also how people supporting or even involved in the Nazi party might not have even realized what they were doing was wrong. Like when they killed the Indians for their "blasphemy". Or when the priest kept going on about "spreading the message of god" and how "these people will be tough converts". Totally a stand in for Jewish people.
I think the Spanish armor really looked fake like that.
DeleteThis film carries a very somber mood. The only music comes from the Aztec guy. Everyone (With the exception of Aguirre) seems to be reluctant to carry out their plan, and you can almost feel the guilt of the Conquistadors and travelers in this film. Probably a mirror reflection of the quiet, somber guilt Germany felt post-World War II. The holocaust was still very much in the minds of the German people, and no one would let them forget about it. I'm sure that even in 1972, Germans, both East and West, were still struggling to come to terms and move past their dark shadows.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of this film would be "Don't burn all your bridges, and throw your life away over meaningless pursuits." That's how Germany felt after World War II. They'd severed all ties, pissed off the wrong people, and went all in on a useless crusade for world domination. This film is representational of that. Aguirre is Hitler. In the final minutes of the film, as the world is collapsed around him and he's lost, he still believes he will succeed. He's alone, heading down a path of certain death, with everything meaningful to him dying at his feet, but he doesn't see it. The dream never dies. That's why he represents Hitler.
Also, when he was ranting about how he would be the God of a new realm, and anyone who does not follow him will suffer a horrid fate, though his followers would rejoice and be rich, seemed very reminiscent of what Hitler was promising Germany. (though the part where people who didn't follow him was a bit more of a secret at the time.)
Delete-C.J. Barrett
I love to see you guys getting a conversation going!
DeleteI like the connections you make, Justus, between the post WWII tone and this film.
Do some research on a German project called "Werewolf" and you'll see just how delusional the Nazis were up to the very end.
DeleteC.J. Barrett:
ReplyDeleteAs was said before me, this movie was heavy with the traitor's expedition's guilt about how they treated a lot of factors around them. Another point, now that I think about it, is that this movie is very iconic of walking into a dead end alley. These people were promised glory, and vast amounts of treasure and wealth. But what do they get? Most of them dead, licking salt off the ground in a cannibal camp out of desperation, and finding themselves pushing horses off rafts. Germans probably felt a similar way; the Nazi party had driven them so far down a dead-end, that they have no way of getting themselves out of the situation.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go re-watch Pirates of the Caribbean to look for Aguirre-like mannerisms and glue them onto my collage of mind-blowedness.
How was the Pirates rewatching?
DeleteGreat personal voice in this blog response with the comments about re-watching Pirates and the references to the "dead end valley". Make sure that great personal voice makes it into your essay.
I did not like this movie. It was way too slow. I could hardly watch it. I didn't really care about much of the story and yeah it was just really boring. I really like history so I did like the pursuit to find El Dorado. But like they didn't even make it there. Everyone just died....
ReplyDeleteI think that the theme of the movie is don't be too cocky.. They all could have turned back when it started getting to rough but the creepy guy just kept saying that they would be rich and gave the men ideas that they will definitely make it there. The entire movie I just wanted him to die or something bad like that do happened to him so I guess it was a happy ending :) haha One other thing that I did notice is that they really treated animals so poorly maybe that had something to do with the time they made it but you can definitely tell that they were just making depressing movies ha
I appreciate your maturity in sitting through the film and commenting on it in spite of finding it very difficult to watch.
Deletei think this movie was interesting. i liked how it was filmed in a jungle and i thought it was very adventurous. i liked how they added details that would have been back in the times of fighting for land with the Indians, like how they brought a black man and a horse with them because the Indians were scared of them. i thought the parts were they would knock the heads off of people were funny, just because it wasnt very realistic. i didnt like how they just pushed the horsey overboard just because he was in the way. i also thought they had some parts in it that didnt really need to be there, like when one of the men were in the Forrest and he heard a noise and started running away. i thought they couldve done without that scene. i didnt get to see the ending but i thought overall it was a good movie.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it. You are one of the few who did, apparently!
DeleteI really didnt care for this movie much at all. Honestly, i drug on and was so BORING. They didnt make you feel anything for any of the characters, i really wasnt interested in the plot from the get go, and the best part of the damn movie was Blondey's facial expressions.
ReplyDeleteAs for the whole post-holocaust thing, im not entirely sure. The whole movie had a really slow feel to it which i guess could be interperated as guilt.. maybe. But at the end when Blondey started to take charge i was begining to think THEN i would see the Hitler side of him but i had to leave early so who knows. NOT ME.
My favorite part of this movie was when the old dude was playing his flute thing (which was super annoying by the way) and Blondey had that look on his face like he was about ready to knock that flute down the old mans throat. And i also liked how they were ACTUALLY in the mountains and on the river and everything because that was pretty cool just knowing people went to a real risk to make it. I really didnt like the fact that they just threw the horse over board. Not that im like Courtney and a total animal lover and everything but i agree with the two guys from the film that said "we could have eaten meat for weeks." UHH, DUH?!! That. Was. Stupid.
I have no idea why this movie is so famous. Like NO idea. I didnt very much like it at all and i definitely wouldnt watch it again. Oh and also before i go, the German language just sounds ugly.
I appreciate your honesty and I appreciate you sitting through the film and commenting on it in spite of not liking it so much. That is a very mature film person thing to do!
DeleteI really loved this film. I may have kept falling asleep at the dead silent parts and waking up to screaming Germans, but I don't think I missed much. Anyways what really made me love this film was the end. The symbolism of the monkeys on the raft while Aguirre is the only one alive and making the speech about how he'll marry his daughter and take over all land. It's just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIn that moment is when Aguirre really is a symbol for Hitler, if that was the intention, and the end of the Holocaust. Aguirre has finally fallen after hurting so many people. After killing so many people just to gain something he couldn't have. I feel like that was the part of this film that screamed symbolism.
The monkeys running around and Aguirre trying to find what they are piling around but he finds nothing. It shows that Aguirre was never going to find anything. Even if he did live.
I feel like this is such a famous film because of the end. I have never seen such a beautiful ending of a movie. I could barely blink. It showed mankind's desires being destroyed because mankind himself destroyed it.
This film just left me speechless.
Wow! This is really cool symbolism that you noticed!
DeleteAshton Bowers:
ReplyDeleteI felt this movie related to the guilt after the holocaust because the Germans thought that something better was coming around but turned out they were in the wrong, and in the movie the Spanish group split up from Spain to conquer Mexico by themselves thinking it was going to be great, but ended up dieing little by little and in the end they lost.
I liked this movie and what it represented but i didn't really like how silent it was most of the time, it was more of an annoying silence then a silence that fit in. I liked how the blonde guy was kinda crazy and influenced the character jack sparrow.
Most of the class seems to agree with your thoughts about this film.
Delete-Randi Ralston :)
ReplyDeleteI think this movie was some what related to the Holocaust because of how Spain took over Mexico just like how the Nazi's pretty much took over Germany, and many other countries. They killed and held the Mexicans and Native Americans prisoner, just like the Nazis did to the Jews.
I really didn't like this movie all that much...it's probably one of my least favourites. It was too slow for me, it wasn't exciting in any way shape or form, and it bored the living crap out of me to the point where I was falling asleep and waking up not knowing what was going on. Through out the parts I didn't fall asleep on, they were just on a raft and shooting at the Mexicans and Native Americans, and it was sooooo freaking lame. I would also keep waking up at that part where that weird guy would keep making those "ooooohhhooohoohohooo! ooooohohhhoooooo!" noises. It would freak me the crap out, and I was so confused. I think the only part out of the whole movie that I actually like, was with the cute little monkeys in the end. Even then, it was like completely random and didn't make any sense. Seriously..this movie just sucked, haha.
I'm glad that even though you thought it sucked, you still were able to see how it related to history.
DeleteCool correlation between following Hitler toward a delusional goal and following Aguirre toward a delusional goal!
ReplyDeleteTayia Groesbeck-
ReplyDeleteI agree with Randi, I think it was related to the Holocaust because the Mexicans and native Americans were held as prisoners.
I didn't like this movie all that much, like everyone else was saying it was slow and boring. But i did like that it was in a jungle because I haven't watched a movie that was filmed in a jungle for awhile. I think it's pretty messed up that people were like that. They would hold people hostage and kill them for no reason at all. it made me mad when Aguirre makes the raft sink and all the dead bodies sink, they should have had a proper burial.
Yeah, Aguirre is a pretty messed up dude.
DeleteI also agree with Randi. This movie sucked. It was sooooo slow. I didn't even fully understand what was going on half the time- and I WASN'T asleep. I also thought of how Spain taking over related to how the Nazis took over Germany.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think the Spaniards were afraid of the Natives. I think that's why they were so eager to murder them once they had one of them captive. No, it's not fair, but I think they were just really paranoid and didn't stop to reason with the Natives before decapitating them.
I also think it was pretty messed up how if anyone decided that what he was doing was wrong and they wanted to take off in the middle of the night or something, he just killed them then and there. I don't really know everything there is to know about the holocaust, but would Hitler have killed someone for opposing him? Replies would be helpful, thanks. :)
Graded.
DeleteTommy kiter
ReplyDeleteI also agree with randi this movie sucked it was dull and boring and it was alot related to the holocaust. It related because the different races were held prisoners. i like how it was filmed in a jungle to like tayia said because there arent much movie actually being filmed in a jungle.
I think the film of this movie is dont throw your whole life away over something meaningless and worthless, its not worth the fight.
I just didnt like this movie i dont like how they held people captive it just made me sick to my stomach how they could do such a thing. all in all it was dull and slow it was just not my type of movie. wouldnt recemmond it unless you like what happened in holocaust.
Graded.
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