Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Strictly speaking, almost all of Herzog's films explore different kinds of obsession, and the director on the set behaves no less recklessly than his characters on the screen. The more absurd and unattainable the character's goal is, the better. In this film, the mythical city of gold El Dorado becomes such an unreachable goal, in order to find which conquistador Aguirre is ready to sacrifice his (and not only) life.

One of the true greats, this, an adventure saga about the ultimate futility of existence. Werner Herzog accompanies his not-so-merry band of travellers through the low-clouds and down the deadly winding trails of a mountain in the Amazon. They are indistinct specks on the landscape, consumed entirely by nature's all-conquering awesomeness.