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66 Davidson / Contacting the Other: Werner Herzog's Initially, the Jivary people prove willing instruments to Fitzcarraldo's imperialistic mission. Film & History Vol. 24, No's. 3-4, 199467 JOHN E. DAVIDSON©IßffiflÄlMII© LÂMdOMdlIt AM® LOTIKATTOIi®M0® ©TATI HfllrWI^lQW Contacting the Other: Traces of Migrational Colonialism and the Imperial Agent in Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo erner Herzog, one of the best-known directors of the New German Cinema, experienced what could be called his first great commercial success with Aguirre, The Wrath ofGod (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) in 1973. With Klaus Kinski in the title role, Aguirre tells of a sixteenth-century conquistador's titanic struggle against both the jungle of the New World, and the bureaucratizing forms of his own country's urge to govern. In 1982 Herzog recapitulates much of Aguirre in Fitzcarraldo. Parallels between the two can be seen in the plot and setting (narrative adventure on the rivers of South America); the critical depiction of historical imperialism and colonialism, the shooting sites; and the cast (Kinski, but also the Aguaruna people playing the "wild" Jivaro). Yet, despite all the similarities in plot, personality, and theme between the two films, Fitzcarraldo takes place in a radically different 68 Davidson / Contacting the Other: Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo historical period of Western expansionthe late nineteenth century-which seriously affects the vision of authenticity the film imparts. Fitzcarraldo's attempt to establish real culture in the rain forest, unlike Aguirre's mission in the tabula rasa of "his" new continent, does not coincide with his undertaking in the film. He must pursue his dream by an indirect route. Fitzcarraldo breaks the path to a vast quadrant ofrubber trees in order to get financing for his quest: an opera house. The film's dramatic action centers around his eccentric attempt to move a huge steamship over a mountain, which is the key to his rubber project's success, while the opera house remains the absent cause of his efforts. The dream and the adventure no longer coincide for the European in the "new world." Having noted this clear attempt to reproduce an earlier work with a few new elements, one is struck by the way in which "reproduction" itself emerges as the new thematic element added to Fitzcarraldo to build upon Aguirre. For example, biological reproduction and its control through the norms ofrespectability become metaphors for the ability to undertake a speculative project. Reproduction also inheres in the image of the circuit dominating the hero's plans: Fitzcarraldo seeks to blaze a trail establishing an infinitely reproducible circuit along the Amazon, Pachitea and Ucayali rivers in order to exploit untapped rubber resources. His imagination is sparked by a map showing the Amazon's two tributaries nearly coming in contact with one another in the region marked by the name and image of the Jivaro, the "headshrinkers" who roam this area. By bridging the mountain separating the rivers, Fitzcarraldo would bring the Jivaro and the land bearing their name into the dominant economy and into the state's domain. Herzog puts Fitzcarraldo in a world that only finds originality in a "flash of inspiration" that provides the initial energy for a new circuit to expand the circulation of state and capitalist power. An originary, traitorous explorer like Aguirre no longer could exist in the world of the rubber boom. But neither can the Jivaro, and it is indicative that Fitzcarraldo's hand-drawn rendition of the map late in the film omits the reference to the natives. His only concern is with the flow of current on the three rivers, and he marks the spot controlling the contact between them with an "X" to indicate the future site of a settlement to be named "Fitzcarraldo." Because Fitzcarraldo takes place in a world of reproducibility based on the circuit, third terms or mediators become essential. The circuit needs a contact that can be closed or opened to control movement. Fitzcarraldo envisions this as his personal role, but he also unwittingly plays this role for the state when he signs a contract with the government. Rather than breaking from the state as Aguirre did, Fitzcarraldo enters into an agreement with...

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