MOVIES ABOUT REAL People or Events. “Aguirre, the Wrath of God.” / “Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards Story.” / “Boston Strangler.” / “Lonely Hearts."

“Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972, Plex) epic historical drama, written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski stars in the title role of Spanish soldier Lope de Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in South America in search of the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. 

       Let me just copy-paste the superlatives. <>Time's Richard Schickel: "[Herzog] does the audience the honor of allowing it to discover the blindnesses and obsessions, the sober lunacies he quietly lays out on the screen. Well acted, most notably by Klaus Kinski in the title role, gloriously photographed by Thomas Mauch, Aguirre is, not to put too fine a point on it, a movie that makes a convincing claim to greatness.”

       <>Time Out's Tony Rayns: “Each scene and each detail is honed down to its salient features. On this level, the film effectively pre-empts analysis by analysing itself as it proceeds, admitting no ambiguity. Yet at the same time, Herzog's flair for charged explosive imagery has never had freer rein, and the film is rich in oneiric moments.”

       There's nothing more that I can add. 🎥💻📽

“Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards Story” (2025, Angel) biographical sports drama. It follows Alma Richards, an unheralded farm boy from Utah who went on to win the high jump gold medal at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. 

       As critics expectedly noted, this bio-flick “predictable, cheesy, and low-budget execution.” I don’t think LDS writer/director T.C. Anderson aimed to please film critics. This movie is clearly faith-based and meant to inspire young Latter Day Saints churchgoers, and other Christians. But still an engaging wholesome underdog feel-gooder for a family's weekend watch. 🎥💻📽

“Boston Strangler” (2023, Hulu) historical crime drama, based on the true story of Albert DeSalvo a.k.a. the Boston Strangler, who, in the 1960s Boston, killed 14 women. 

       The film stars Keira Knightley as Loretta McLaughlin, the reporter who broke the news for the Boston Record American, with Jean Cole (Carrie Coon).

       Nothing near remarkable about how this movie tackled the baffling case or multiple murders (which still pose unanswered questions), except with the expected strong ensemble performance. 

       Ms Knightley's restrained fire is a focused determination that stays with you, which makes her essay of Loretta a truly inspiring work of drama. 🎥💻📽

“Lonely Hearts" (2006, Filmrise) neo-noir crime thriller. Two homicide detectives track a notorious murderous couple. 

       Raymond Fernandez (1914 – 1951) and Martha Jule Beck (1920 – 1951) were a serial killer couple. They were convicted of one murder, are known to have committed two more, and were suspected of having killed up to twenty victims during a spree between 1947 and 1949. After their arrest and trial for serial murder in 1949, Fernandez and Beck became known as the “Lonely Hearts Killers” for meeting their unsuspecting victims through personal ads, posted in newspaper lonely hearts columns. 

A number of films and television shows are based on this case. This version could be the worst, irrelevant of the top-notch cast: John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, and Laura Dern. 

       Their collective effort didn't help in saving a bit of dramatic excitement into this supposedly very powerful true-crime story. 🎥💻📽