Bryce Hosseini

Incredible film. By the end I felt almost as though I were in a trance. The incredible, ethereal soundtrack by Popol Vuh had much to do with that. So too did the excellent sound design throughout the film and the amazing camera work aboard and around Aguirre's flimsy raft. The cuts are not too quick; Herzog gives the viewer time to absorb the significance of each scene before moving to the next one. This is a film that feels longer than it is, but because the actual runtime is only 90 minutes that's not a bad thing. One comes away from the film with a sense of the overwhelming power of nature and the ultimate insignificance of man's efforts against it. The acting is always good, with the most notable performance being that of Klaus Kinski in the titular role. The only major strike against this film is the English overdubbing, which is somewhat sloppy for whatever reason. Even so, I can't bring myself to give this film anything less than five stars.