Cobra Verde

Dir: Werner Herzog

1987

*****

Cobra Verde is based on Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel The Viceroy of Ouidah, which was itself based on the Brazilian slave trader Francisco Félix de Sousa and his role in helping King Ghezo overthrow his brother Adandozan as King of Dahomey with the help of Ghezo's Dahomey Amazons. It is the last of five films in a legendary partnership between director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski following Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Woyzeck & Fitzcarraldo, and it was the last straw for both men. The picture of Kinski attempting to throttle Herzog in front of a crowd of African extras is now infamous and is discussed in Herzog’s 1999 documentary My Best Fiend. In the documentary,  photographer Beat Presser asks Herzog what happened, to which he replied that he simply thought that Kinski, aware of the camera, wanted to create a dramatic moment, while everyone else present agreed that Kinski was genuinely trying to kill him. Herzog always involved Kinski in the production of their films and spoke to him about the possible filming locations in Ghana, Brazil and Colombia. Kinski was interested in some landscapes in Colombia, but Herzog did not agree. However, Kinski made the trip with a group of friends to some remote places that fascinated him: the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Cape of the Sailing, on the peninsula of La Guajira, Colombia. Herzog finally decided on Villa de Leyva and Valle del Cauca, in the South American country. It was then that Kinski famously uttered "Herzog does not know that I give life to the dead scenery". Their now-legendary personality conflict peaked during the film. The film's production was especially affected by Kinski's fiery 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 Růžička. It is amazing that the pair had so much equil respect and hatred for each other but it accumulated into some of the greatest films ever made. 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 sertão. In his travels, da Silva encounters and subdues an escaped slave, an act that impresses wealthy sugar baron Dom Octávio Coutinho (José Lewgoy). Dom 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 Dom'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, rather than kill him or have him prosecuted, Dom Coutinho decides to send da Silva on the impossible mission of re-opening the slave trade with Western Africa. The bandit is aware he is likely to be killed in Africa, but accepts anyway. He travels by sea to Dahomey, West Africa (present-day Benin), where he must negotiate with the fearsome King Bossa Ahadee of Dahomey (played by His Honor the Omanhene Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein, a village north of the city of Axim, Ghana). Amazingly, da Silva succeeds in convincing the King to exchange slaves for new rifles. He takes over Elmina Castle and takes Taparica (King Ampaw), sole survivor of the previous expedition, for a partner. They begin operating the slave trade across the Atlantic to Brazil. Soon, however, the fickle king has them captured and brought before him. The King accuses da Silva of various crimes that he has no knowledge of, including poisoning the King's greyhound, and sentences him to death. He and Taparica are rescued the night prior to da Silva's decapitation by the King's nephew, who negotiates a blood alliance with da Silva, planning to overthrow the King. The ambitious bandit trains an enormous army of native women, and leads them on a raid to successfully overthrow King Bossa. Against all expectations, the slave trade is successfully maintained under the new King, thanks to da Silva's resourcefulness. However, da Silva eventually falls out of favor with the new King, and discovers that in the meantime 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, and a group of young native women laughingly chant over the credits. Herzog’s dream-like nightmare vision is astonishing and as rich as you’d expect and Kinski's manic performance is impossible to take your eyes off. It is fair to say that a lot of that is him rather than the character but he brings the character to life more than anyone else could. All five of the films the pair made together are masterpieces and they ended on a high before they killed each other – and many firmly believe that could have genuinely happened. Kinski by all accounts was a nasty piece of work but he possessed the camera like no one else before or since. Herzog’s film is an amazing adaptation but when Kinski is in front of you, all you need to do is film him and hope that he doesn’t kill you later.