Cobra Verde
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| Cobra Verde | |
|---|---|
 A promotional film poster for Cobra Verde |
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| Directed by | Werner Herzog |
| Produced by | Lucki Stipetic |
| Written by | Werner Herzog Bruce Chatwin (novel) |
| Starring | Klaus Kinski José Lewgoy |
| Music by | Popol Vuh |
| Cinematography | Viktor Ruzicka |
| Editing by | Maximiliane Mainka |
| Release date(s) | 1987 |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Country |  West Germany |
| Language | German |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Cobra Verde (also known as Slave Coast) is a 1987 German drama film based upon Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel, The Viceroy of Ouidah. The film depicts the life of a fictional slave trader named Francisco Manoel da Silva (known as 'Cobra Verde') who is played by the prolific German actor Klaus Kinski. Directed by Werner Herzog, Cobra Verde was an ambitious project, with filming locations in Brazil, Colombia and Ghana. The film's cast includes a multitude of extras and also features His Royal Highness Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein.
While Cobra Verde was probably the least well-received of the five collaborations between Herzog and Kinski,[1] it was still something of a critical success, with many reviewers hailing it as a masterful adaptation of Chatwin's novel, and despite its flaws, something of an artistic triumph.[2]
Most profoundly, Klaus Kinski died four years after the release of Cobra Verde, and the film would stand as the last of his acclaimed collaborations with director Werner Herzog.
[edit] Plot
Francisco Manoel da Silva (Klaus Kinski) is a debauched Brazilian rancher who reluctantly goes to work at a gold mining company after his ranch is ruined by drought. When he discovers that he is being financially exploited, he murders his boss and goes on the lam to pursue a career as an outlaw. He becomes the notorious Cobra Verde (Green Snake), the most vicious bandit of the pampas.
In his travels, da Silva encounters and subdues an escaped slave, an act that impresses wealthy sugar baron Don Octavio Coutinho (José Lewgoy). Don Coutinho, unaware that he is dealing with the legendary bandit, hires da Silva to oversee the slaves on his sugar plantation. When da Silva subsequently impregnates all three of the Don's daughters, the sugar baron is furious, but the situation becomes even more complicated when he discovers that da Silva is none other than the infamous Cobra Verde.
As punishment, Don Coutinho decides to send da Silva on the impossible mission of re-opening the slave trade in Africa, and the bandit, though aware he is likely to be killed in Africa, decides to accept. He travels by sea to West Africa, where he must negotiate with the fearsome King Bossa Ahadee of Dahomey (His Royal Highness Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein).
Amazingly, da Silva succeeds, convincing the King to exchange slaves for new rifles. He takes over Fort Elmina and begins to operate the slave trade across the Atlantic to Brazil. Soon, however, the fickle king has him captured and brought before him. The king accuses him of various crimes that da Silva has no knowledge of, including poisoning the King's greyhound, and sentences him to death. Narrowly escaping from the King's realm with his life, da Silva allies himself with a rebellious prince who desires to overthrow and succeed the murderous King. The ambitious bandit trains an enormous army of native women, and leads them to successfully overthrow King Bossa.
Against all of Don Coutinho's expectations, the slave trade is successfully maintained under the new King, thanks to the resourceful talents of the bandit that he had intended to send to a certain death.
However, da Silva eventually falls out of favor with the new king, and discovers that meanwhile the Portuguese have outlawed slavery and seized his assets, and the English have placed a price on his head. Despite the adversity, da Silva is glad that finally a change has come. The exhausted bandit tries desperately to take a boat to water, but despite his best efforts, he is unable to accomplish the task. He collapses next to the ship as the tide slowly laps in. The film ends with the hauntingly symbolic image of an African man stricken with polio walking along the shore.
[edit] Tension between Herzog and Kinski
Cobra Verde was the last film that Werner Herzog would make with Klaus Kinski. Their now-legendary personality conflict peaked during the film, and though the actor died four years after the film was released, it was unlikely that they would have worked together after the turmoil that surrounded the film's production.
Made at a time when the Kinski's infamous misanthropy had reached what many described as his all-time peak,[3] the film's production was especially affected by the fiery actor's relentless outbursts. The cast and crew were continually plagued by Kinski's wrath, most famously culminating in the film's original cinematographer Thomas Mauch walking out on the project after a perpetual torrent of verbal abuse from Kinski. Herzog was forced to replace Mauch with Viktor Ruzicka.[4]
After the completion of Cobra Verde, the pair vowed never to work together again, with Kinski exclaiming, "We can not go further. I am no more.[5]"
It was clear that the animosity between actor and director had become irreparable, and that their 'love-hate' relationship had disintegrated to a devastating extent. Kinski described Herzog as ignorant, impossible to work with, and even tyrannical. He elaborated on his perspective by saying,
| “ | I have to shoot without any breaks. I yell at Herzog and hit him. I have to fight for every sequence. I wish Herzog would catch the plague, more than ever. He was even more helpless, more stupid and at the same time more persistent against me, than he was in the last four films, I shot with him. Although he urgently needed my help, and pretended, he would kiss my ass for that, he did the opposite behind my back. The people from Ghana are friendly and peaceful. Herzog knew, how to use them for his purpose. I knew his criminal and enslaving methods since Peru, where he always went for the most helpless and where I eventually called him Adolf Hitler. In Ghana he excelled himself.[6] | ” |
At the time, Werner Herzog reflected on Kinski's hatred, insisting that the actor had "become uncontrollable."[7] But the director's opinions of Kinski are more deeply explored in his 1999 documentary retrospective, My Best Fiend, where he examines their unique friendship, the associated hatred, and the legacy that both qualities were responsible for.
[edit] External links
- Cobra Verde at the Internet Movie Database
- Cobra Verde at Rotten Tomatoes
- DVD review of Cobra Verde
- Baumann Graphik (Movie poster, german theatrical release, 1987)
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