Klaus Kinski gives a portentous interpretation in the title role as the 19th Century hapless crook who snaps when he learns a treason . During the 1800s , paroled Brazilian con known as Cobra Verde finds a job as an slave overseer on a sugar plantation . When he impregnates all three
of the owner's daughters , the owner wishes him gone and he is sent to West Africa with a few troops to an old Portuguese fort and carry out an impossible mission : to re-open the slave trade with the mad African king of Dahomey . That's why Cobra Verde has to convince the local African ruler to resume the slave trade with Brazil. The only white man in the area , being subsequently betrayed and tormented by the king , he finds himself the victim of torture as well as humiliation and increasingly pushed to the edge . As he finds alone and powerless against a ruthless African society. Cobra Verde is on the edge of madness and he then trains an army of women to overthrow the king , as he can control the slave trade himself by creating a rebel army.
Even by Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski standards , their last collaboration was a wild trip . Werner Herzog's relationship with Klaus Kinski reached a thunderous walk something of a pitch in this one , their last collaboration. Being fifth and final of the Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski collaborations, the other four essentially combative relationships are the following ones : Aguirre, Warth of God (1972) , Nosferatu, the vampire (1979) Woyzeck (1979) and Fitzcarraldo (1982) , while the interesting documentary My Best Fiend (1999) depicts the tumultuous relations between them . Kinski gives a peculiar and intense acting in his usual style as the freed outlaw Cobra Verde hired by a plantation owner to supervise his slaves . Thrilling and sad portrayal of a man plunging into insanity when he is being cheated by twisted forces he can not control , being caught into a hateful mission of slavery until a surprising finale . Werner Herzog's film is based upon a prestigious novel titled The ¨Viceroy of Ouidah¨, dealing with a very strange , mysterious and bizarre character , as well as regarding so much with the negative aspects of Africa . Not the same dizzy folly as "Aguirre" , but Herzog´s similarly long perspective conjures as a brooding and thought-provoking film of man's aimless tracks throughout a cruel society and harsh vision of the human being , suffering beyond despair , eventually cracking when he discovers his real defeat. Along with Kinski showing up other secondaries as Peter Berling, Herzog's friend who worked in his films and the Italians Benito Stefanelli and Salvatore Basile who produced as well . It contains evocative cinematography , shot on location in Dahomey, Benin , Ghana , Colombia and including something really positive: atractive dances at the end with young girls dancing and singing. Adding a mysterious and esoteric music score by Popol Vuh , Herzog's regular.
The motion picture was competently directed by Werner Herzog, though some may find hard to take . This great German director Herzog has made several thoughtful , provoking and enjoyable films , such as : "Fata Morgana" , "Aguirre Wrath of God" , "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser", "Heart of Glass" , "Stroszek", "Woyzeck" , "Nosferatu the Vampire", "Where the Green Ants Dream" , "Cobra Verde" ,"Lessons in Darkness", "My Dearest Enemy", "Invincible" , "The White Diamond", "Grizzly Man", "Rescue Dawn" , among others. Rating : 6.5/10, above average and being an irresistible movie thanks to Kinski's extraordinary performance . The flick will appeal to Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski followers.
Even by Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski standards , their last collaboration was a wild trip . Werner Herzog's relationship with Klaus Kinski reached a thunderous walk something of a pitch in this one , their last collaboration. Being fifth and final of the Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski collaborations, the other four essentially combative relationships are the following ones : Aguirre, Warth of God (1972) , Nosferatu, the vampire (1979) Woyzeck (1979) and Fitzcarraldo (1982) , while the interesting documentary My Best Fiend (1999) depicts the tumultuous relations between them . Kinski gives a peculiar and intense acting in his usual style as the freed outlaw Cobra Verde hired by a plantation owner to supervise his slaves . Thrilling and sad portrayal of a man plunging into insanity when he is being cheated by twisted forces he can not control , being caught into a hateful mission of slavery until a surprising finale . Werner Herzog's film is based upon a prestigious novel titled The ¨Viceroy of Ouidah¨, dealing with a very strange , mysterious and bizarre character , as well as regarding so much with the negative aspects of Africa . Not the same dizzy folly as "Aguirre" , but Herzog´s similarly long perspective conjures as a brooding and thought-provoking film of man's aimless tracks throughout a cruel society and harsh vision of the human being , suffering beyond despair , eventually cracking when he discovers his real defeat. Along with Kinski showing up other secondaries as Peter Berling, Herzog's friend who worked in his films and the Italians Benito Stefanelli and Salvatore Basile who produced as well . It contains evocative cinematography , shot on location in Dahomey, Benin , Ghana , Colombia and including something really positive: atractive dances at the end with young girls dancing and singing. Adding a mysterious and esoteric music score by Popol Vuh , Herzog's regular.
The motion picture was competently directed by Werner Herzog, though some may find hard to take . This great German director Herzog has made several thoughtful , provoking and enjoyable films , such as : "Fata Morgana" , "Aguirre Wrath of God" , "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser", "Heart of Glass" , "Stroszek", "Woyzeck" , "Nosferatu the Vampire", "Where the Green Ants Dream" , "Cobra Verde" ,"Lessons in Darkness", "My Dearest Enemy", "Invincible" , "The White Diamond", "Grizzly Man", "Rescue Dawn" , among others. Rating : 6.5/10, above average and being an irresistible movie thanks to Kinski's extraordinary performance . The flick will appeal to Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski followers.