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.
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.