Cobra Verde (1987)

like many films by Werner Herzog, it seems be one of the examples of war between him and Klaus Kinski. the result - a sort of storm. expected. . because like each film of this fascinating team, "Cobra Verde" is a challenge. direct, powerful, remembering the chaos and transforming the story in pretext. and , in strange way, it is the basic good point. useful for define it as a great film. because nothing surprising is presented by the film. only a large circle of confirmations. and a story about fall. as only reasonable answer.

This is being said with a very heavy heart, due to admiring Herzog hugely as a film-maker and to me Kinski gave some of his best work in his work with Herzog. Their previous collaborations ranged from very good to masterpiece status.'Fitzcarraldo' particularly is what cinema is all about, and 'Aguirre Wrath of God' is a ground-breaking achievement. 'Nosferatu', a visually stunning and quite riveting homage to the 1922 FW Murnau masterpiece, and 'Woyzeck', very powerful stuff, are not quite as good but still great. 'Cobra Verde' is certainly not an awful film and is watchable, but Herzog and Kinski's last collaboration is also their weakest to me and it's lesser Herzog overall too.'Cobra Verde' is certainly not without redeeming qualities. The best thing about it is that it's visually stunning, there is a sweeping majesty but also a stark but rich atmosphere making for some truly arresting images. The music score is suitably haunting and rousing.Kinski gives his usual intense and effortlessly charismatic performance, and there are some wonderfully sensual and surreal parts. Herzog has delivered more on the substance in other films of his but there is a little evidence of that here, and there is no denying that he delivers on the style.Sadly, the story is the least cohesive and involving of Herzog and Kinski's films together. 'Cobra Verde' is marred by a sluggish pace, that is not helped by having scenes that go on for too long, and by having storytelling that is chaotic and sometimes incomplete-feeling which doesn't make the film so easy to follow. It's not hugely lengthy (being under two hours), but this is the only film of Herzog and Kinski that feels too long and like the story was nowhere near enough in content to justify the length.Very little is done to make the characters interesting. The titular character is done in a way that's trademark Herzog (eccentric character in difficult environment) but too much of a pale shadow of far better developed variations of the same type of character in 'Aguirre' and 'Fitzcarraldo'. Some of 'Cobra Verde' also feels excessively overdone thematically and uninspired, good ideas for content but with not enough done with it.Dialogue here is the least thought-provoking and natural-sounding of their collaborations together, often sounding on the awkward side. None of the rest of the performances stand out in any way, practically lost amongst the wonderful images but messy storytelling.In conclusion, Herzog and Kinski's final, and weakest, collaboration together. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Cobra Verde is best known as the final collaboration between director Werner Herzog and star actor Klaus Kinski. These two mavericks had come together explosively several times before and, in the process, created some fascinating works of cinema. It was here, however, that the Herzog/Kinski partnership finally and irreparably hit the skids, with Kinski behaving on-set in a manner too negative, even by his alarming standards. This last film is generally considered to be the weakest of the five collaborations and, in fairness, this is not an unreasonable verdict as the plot dynamics and central character are less interesting than in previous films. Having said that, it's still hardly a poor film in a general sense and still has quite a few things about it to recommend.Its story focuses on the 19th century African slave trade. After impregnating all of his plantation boss's daughters, a bandit is sent from Brazil to West Africa to buy slaves in an enterprise his boss fully expects will result in his death. It doesn't quite work out that way and he becomes very involved with an African tribal war instead.Much here is similar to the other Herzog/Kinski films that preceded it. It is set in a historical period, it has a central character who is an outsider with a hint of madness and it features documentary realism in its use of indigenous non-actors in support roles. The location photography is one of the definite strong points and Kinski is always interesting to watch, although in this role he is perhaps more difficult to like than usual; after all he is a slave trader, which is hardly the most sympathetic job title. He and his fellow white men display casual racism throughout, although the film doesn't really much delve into the rights and wrongs of slavery very much and is more a character study of a man in the middle of this scenario. I think the main problem is that the story doesn't really give us much to work with or care too much about. The film, as a result works more in places, with some individual scenes sticking in the mind; most notably for me was the appearance of the 'nuns' – a sequence where several African girls chant and dance in a very captivating manner. There are other interesting moments sprinkled throughout but Cobra Verde somehow doesn't work as well as a whole piece and remains interesting but flawed.

Perhaps the most tragic of the Kinski/Herzog protagonists, even more so than Woyzeck. If Woyzeck is a man beaten down on all sides by society, than Cobra Verde (real name Francisco Manoel da Silva) is a man destroyed by his own intensity - not unlike Kinski himself, really. I didn't totally agree with some of the screen writing decisions (namely in terms of plot developments), but in a way I realize these are irrelevant. This is not a film about plot but about a man - an absolute character study. I think the most important moment of the film is actually near the beginning, when Franciso shakes the hand of the innkeeper and says something like, "I've never had a friend in my life. Farewell." It is one of the most haunting lines ever delivered by Kinski, and certainly one of Herzog's most touching scenes. While not my favorite of the Herzog/Kinski canon, I'd still rank it alongside Fitzcarraldo in terms of greatness. Much like that film, this shows Kinski at his most human.