This is the second film we’ve watched by director Werner Herzog and once again it stars his frequent Klaus Kinski collaborator even though neither seemed to be able to stand the other. Fitzcarraldo even parallels Aguirre, the Wrath of God in that both are about a fateful boat journey down a river through the jungle. The story here is even more incredible yet it seems to have been loosely based on a real one about an entrepreneur who hauled a steam ship over a hill, albeit in disassembled form.

Fitzcarraldo is the nickname of a crazy entrepreneur in Peru who has a penchant for impossible business ideas and dreams of bringing opera to the small town of Iquitos where he is based. As other businessmen are making fortunes from rubber, he manages to secure the only unclaimed land in the area that is inaccessible due to being behind a series of rapids. With funds from his paramour Molly, he buys and refurbishes a steamship, hires a crew, and sets off. Rather than trying to go upstream against the rapids, his plan is to to the long way around, down another river, taking the ship overland across a hill and then setting it down again in the correct river. Naturally he faces numerous obstacles while attempting to perform this feat but is aided by the mysterious natives of the area who have heretofore been completely hostile to strangers.

Once again Herzog takes advantage of Kinski’s wild-eyed demeanor to depict insanity though here it’s a completely different brand of crazy. Between his single-minded obsession for the opera of Caruso, his determination to see his crazy plans through and his fearlessness, it’s easy for everyone else except Molly to dismiss him as a lunatic. The incongruous sight of a huge steel steamship tortuously making its way uphill is proof of how crazy all this is. Yet the theme here is the polar opposite of Aguirre, the Wrath of God, as Fitzcarraldo is ultimately proven to be both resourceful and competent, making this film a triumph of individual willpower against the doubts of the masses. The contrast is too acute to be coincidental so I think Herzog must have delighted in making another film that is so similar and yet completely different in its conclusions.

One complaint that I had about Aguirre, the Wrath of God was that it looked like it could do with a bigger budget. This is very much not the case here as Fitzcarraldo is an impressive spectacle throughout. It’s all the more impressive as this was made in the era before CGI so almost all of it is real. The most dangerous parts involving the ship shooting down the rapids and banging itself on the rocks were shot using models but the main event of hauling the ship up a steep slope using an elaborate yet primitive looking set of pulleys looks scarily real. It’s absurd and insane, yet when they manage to achieve this impossible feat the sense of achievement is ecstatic and infectious. I dislike how this film once again falls back on the superstitious natives believing in mysterious myths trope, but one can see how this monumental endeavor could inspire religious fervor.

Of course the theme here of a single crazy man proving everyone wrong is a pretty simple one that can’t be compared to similar films about a boat journey through the jungle. I’m also amused that the film doesn’t even try to convince you that Kinski in any way resembles the Irishman he is supposed to be as opposed to Kinski just being his usual crazy self. But it can’t be denied that watching this is a powerful, unforgettable experience and in making this Herzog has proven himself to be just as single-mindedly determined as the character he has created.