[noblethrasher]

It's Kinski that is lucky to have survived the filming:

"In My Best Fiend, Herzog says that one of the native chiefs offered in all seriousness to kill Kinski for him, but that he declined because he needed the actor to complete filming"[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzcarraldo

[staticautomatic]

Yeah the movie made it very blurry as to whether Herzog liked, respected, tolerated, or used Kinski. Maybe all those things.