Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Over-Romanticized and Underwhelming

It seems that most fans of this film waste no time in remarking upon the wonder of Hertzog and crew actually transporting a steamboat over a mountain. There's no doubt that such an endeavor was the pinnacle of Hertzog's method directing, eclipsing the perilous jungle journey of Aguirre: The Wrath of God, the 30,000 live rats unleashed in Nosferatu, and the famous hypnosis experiment in Heart of Glass. These are the sorts of stories that eager young film students eat up and stow away for good party conversation at a later date. These are not, however, ingredients that make a great film.

Indeed, most of Fitzcarraldo's allure seems based upon what happened behind the scenes rather that what's occurring on screen. Sure, Hertzog provides plenty of breath-taking shots throughout the film, and Kinsky does an adequate job of expressing desires that are less manic and exaggerated than his own, but everything else simply falls short. The supporting cast is woefully under-developed, notably including Fitzcarraldo's girlfriend/financer, who conveys all the blind obedience and personality of a faithful dog. Worse yet are the three main crew members, none of whom ever manage to attain any reasonable level of characterization even after two and a half hours. In Aguirre, you often knew everything you needed to know about a crew member just by the way Hertzog shot his face. That sort of depth and compassion is lacking here. In one particularly memorable scene, the four member crew (Fitzcarraldo included) are slowly eating dinner while surrounded by the fixated eyes of armed Amazonian natives. As the camera moves to each crew member's face, one would expect to see them reacting in their own unique ways, somehow defining their characters through varied responses to such a terrifying moment. Instead, they all look uniformly worried and mildly hungry.

Add to this the awkward, dated Euro-1970s soundtrack which, while somehow appropriate in its irony with Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht, elicits all the retro wonder of hairy mustached men in short-shorts here. Then, of course, there's the plodding 157 minute run-time, deserved in a rich and purposeful film like Aguirre, but utterly wasteful here. All of this adds up to a recipe for tedium. I'm willing to bet that, upon repeated viewings, most avid fans of Fitzcarraldo skip roughly two hours into the film where the boat begins to ascend the mountain. That, the boat's devastation in the rapids even later on, and the film's conclusion seem to be all that make this film worth seeing. The rest certainly doesn't hold up to Hertzog's other great works, nor Kinsky's.

There's no doubt that the story behind this film is far more riveting than the film, itself. For that reason, I strongly encourage viewers to watch "Burden of Dreams," the story behind Fitzcarraldo, rather than Fitzcarraldo, itself. Learn more about the boat ascending the mountain, the near destruction of the steamboat while the film crew was aboard, Kinsky's temper tantrums, and the natives that offered to kill him. Those are the things that seem to have made this film a legend, not the film itself. July 11, 2008

The conquistador of the useless

Along with "Aguirre, The Wrath of God," "Fitzcarraldo" ranks as the best collaboration between Herzog and Kinski. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it comes close to being the best thing that either of them did, Herzog as director and Kinski as actor.

In both "Aguirre" and "Fitzcarraldo," the theme is humanity against an unforgiving, primitive nature, symbolized by clotted, almost impenetrable jungle and indigeneous tribes whose customs and beliefs are baffling and unpredictable to "civilized" minds. Both Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo are defeated by nature, but whereas Aquirre is destroyed by his defeat, Fitzcarraldo triumphs in defeat. I suspect that one of the points Herzog wants to make is that the unbridled lust for power, manifested by Aguirre, is a different kind of human ambition than the sheer love of beauty that animates Fitzcarraldo. The former is easy to defeat. The latter may fall, but it will inevitably rise again. Even nature--tribal children and animals in the film--responds to beauty.

The great irony here is that beauty, unlike power, is "useless." It has no obvious utility in the "real world." That's why at one point a skeptical entrepreneur mocks Fitzcarraldo and his dreams to bring opera to the jungle by calling him a "conquistador of the useless." This line reminds me of an observation once made by Henry David Thoreau. After remarking that there were plenty of schools and clubs for the "diffusion of useful knowledge," he said "methinks we need a school for the diffusion of useless knowledge." It's the "useless" things in life that reveal life's depth.

The acting in "Fitzcarraldo" is superb. Kinski shows a tender, lovable side in his portrayal of the title character that's both remarkable and in wonderful contrast to the crazy Kinski who too often explodes on the screen (although apparently Kinski the man was so emotionally volatile on the set that one of the tribal extras, offended by his craziness, offered to kill him if only Herzog would give the word). Claudia Cardinale as Molly is exquisite, and the chemistry (as they say) between her and Kinski works well.

Finally, the cinematography is indescribable. Of course the temptation is to focus on the long shots of the ship "Molly" being hauled up the Peruvian mountainside. But every scene in the film, from the opening shots of the well-lighted opera house facade standing starkly against a jet-black sky, to the final scene of "The Puritans," is breathtaking. July 6, 2008

Werner Herzog's Quixotic quest in making Fitzcarraldo.

Fitzcarraldo is more than a spectacular, awe-inspiring film. It is the end result of Werner Herzog's own Quixotic quest to bring the real-life story of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fermín Fitzcarrald's dream of pulling a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber territory to the screen. Herzog's film revises the 1890s incident to tell the slightly different story of Brian "Fitzcarraldo" Fitzgerald's dream of building an opera house in the city of Iquitos, Peru. To make his dream a reality, Fitcarraldo decides to raise money in the rubber business by leasing an inaccessible parcel of rainforest from the Peruvian government. He then buys a steamer (which he christens the "Molly Aida"), hires a crew, and then departs up the dangerous Pachitea River, which flows through an area in the Amazon inhabited by hostile tribes. Upon reaching the river's junction with the Ucayali River, using native Peruvian manpower together with cables and pulleys, Fitzcarraldo intends to pull his three-story, 320-ton steamer over the muddy hillside to the other river. Production of the infamous film was plagued by problems (which is the subject of Les Blank's compelling documentary Burden of Dreams - Criterion Collection). Jason Robards was originally cast in the role of Fitzcarraldo, but after forty-percent of the film was shot, he became ill and left the set. The film was then reshot after Klaus Kinski assumed the role. Meanwhile, Mick Jagger (cast as Fitzcarraldo's assistant) left the set to tour with the Rolling Stones, forcing Herzog to omit Jagger's character from the script. Then, during filming, a nasty rift developed between Kinski and Herzog. (In his documentary My Best Friend-Klaus Kinski], Herzog says that one of the native chiefs on the set even offered to murder Kinski to resolve the dispute between the two men.) Fitcarraldo is not only a great film about one man's dream of building an opera house in the Peruvian jungle. It is also the fascinating story of Herzog's own obsession in making a seemingly impossible film a reality. Fitzcarraldo is a highly-recommended, one-of-a-kind experience in film.

G. Merritt January 21, 2008

Cinematic Perfection

This is one of those movies that you think about for days after viewing. I can not exactly put my finger on the appeal except to say that the movie was captivating and Kluase Kinski was incredible. You will find yourself quickly immersed in this film and wondering like myself "why have I not heard of this movie before and why does the lead actor "Klause Kinski" not have an award for what is arguably one of the best leading men performances of all time. I strongly recommend this film be viewed on a large screen with a good sound system in an otherwise quiet environment. This movie was perfection and although several individuals were considered and initially played the lead role of Fitzcarraldo, Klaus Kinski made this movie experience unforgettable. Klause is to Fitzcarraldo as Brando is to the Godfather. No one else could have come close to handling this role except Brando himself. Officially part of my all time favorite movie list. Lastly, for you movie buffs, this project had the feel of Papillon which is another cinematic masterpiece. December 29, 2007

Bewitchingly different.

If you're in the mood for something other than the usual mind-numbing garbage being churned out by Hollywood, this film should fit the bill nicely. Absolutely stunning in its realism, the location shooting takes second place only to Klaus Kinski's moving portrayal of a character that seems to walk a razor-thin line between frenetic madness and simple genius, much like the real-life actor himself. My favorite scene occurs when the steamboat is moving down the river, and Kinski and crew begin to hear, coming from the depths of the rain forest, the war chants of the hostile Indians. Kinski cooly responds by playing a record of operatic legend Enrico Caruso. You can't help but have a flashback to the 'dueling banjos' scene from "Deliverance". This film is so bizarre, but yet so refreshingly different, you'll be left scratching your head and wondering why you enjoyed it.

For good, but short and to-the-point reviews, read those by Tony V. Padilla and Grigory's Girl. December 29, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...