''Cobra Verde'' (also known as ''Slave Coast'') is a 1987 German
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...
directed by
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...
and starring
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...
, in their fifth and final collaboration. Based upon
Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, ...
's 1980 novel ''
The Viceroy of Ouidah'', the film depicts the life of a fictional
slave trader who travels to the West African kingdom of
Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...
. It was filmed on location in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
and
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
.
Plot
In the late 19th century, Francisco Manoel da Silva (
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...
) is a debauched Brazilian rancher who has reluctantly gone 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
The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of " outback" with Australia in Englis ...
''.
In a visit to town, da Silva encounters and subdues by force of character an escaping slave, an act that impresses wealthy sugar baron Dom Octávio Coutinho (
José Lewgoy
José Lewgoy (16 November 1920 – 10 February 2003) was a Brazilian actor. He is recognizable to many art-house cinema fans for his role as Don Aquilino in Werner Herzog's 1982 film ''Fitzcarraldo''.
Biography
He was born in Veranópolis, ...
). 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
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...
, West Africa (present-day
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
), where he must negotiate with the fearsome King
Bossa Ahadee of Dahomey (played by His Honour the
Omanhene In several Akan nations of Ghana, the Omanhene (''Pl. Amanhene)'' is the title of the supreme traditional ruler ('king') in a region or a larger town. The omanhene is the central figure and institution of the nation. Officially, he has no function ...
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
Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or '' Feitoria da Mina''), in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly th ...
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 (who, after learning to use weapons, at first want to kill all men) and leads them on a raid to successfully overthrow King Bossa.
Against all expectations, the slave trade is maintained under the new king, thanks to da Silva's resourcefulness. However, da Silva eventually falls out of favour with the new King, and discovers that in the meantime the Portuguese have outlawed slavery and seized his assets, and the British have placed a price on his head. Despite the adversity, da Silva is glad that finally a change has come and recognises that slavery has been a crime. The exhausted bandit goes onto the beach at Elmina and desperately tries to pull a ship's boat to water, but he collapses in the surf as the tide slowly comes in and a crippled African man walks on all fours toward him along the shore. The film ends with a group of confident young African women laughingly chanting over the credits.
Cast
*
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...
– Francisco Manoel da Silva
*
King Ampaw
King Ampaw is a Ghanaian filmmaker and actor born in Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He is known for starring as the second lead role with the late Hollywood actor, Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's sensational film ''Cobra Verde'' (19 ...
– Taparica
*
José Lewgoy
José Lewgoy (16 November 1920 – 10 February 2003) was a Brazilian actor. He is recognizable to many art-house cinema fans for his role as Don Aquilino in Werner Herzog's 1982 film ''Fitzcarraldo''.
Biography
He was born in Veranópolis, ...
– Don Octavio Coutinho
*
Salvatore Basile
Salvatore may refer to:
* Salvatore (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name
* "Salvatore" (song), by Lana Del Rey, 2015
* Salvatore (band), a Norwegian instrumental rock band
* '' Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams' ...
– Captain Fraternidade
*
Peter Berling – Bernabé
Production
The film was shot in Ghana, Brazil and Colombia. Herzog showed Kinski photographs of the places where he would like to work. 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
Villa de Leyva, also called Villa de Leiva, is a touristic colonial town and municipality, in the Ricaurte Province, part of the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The town is a Colombian National Heritage Town and is on the tentative list for UNES ...
and
Valle del Cauca, in the South American country. Kinski said then: "Herzog does not know that I give life to the dead scenery."
The film was based upon
Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, ...
's 1980
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
''
The Viceroy of Ouidah'', which was itself based on the Brazilian slave trader
Francisco Félix de Sousa
Francisco Félix de Souza (4 October 1754 – 8 May 1849) was a Brazilian slave trader who was deeply influential in the regional politics of pre-colonial West Africa (namely, current-day Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Togo). He founded Afro-Braz ...
and his role in helping King
Ghezo overthrow his brother
Adandozan
Adandozan was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1797 until 1818. His rule ended with a coup by his brother Ghezo who then erased Adandozan from the official history resulting in high uncertainty about many aspects of hi ...
as King of
Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...
with the help of Ghezo's
Dahomey Amazons
The Dahomey Mino ( Fon: Agojie, Agoji, Mino, or Minon) were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey (in today's Benin, West Africa) that existed from the 17th century until the late 19th century. They are one of the few doc ...
. Herzog approached Chatwin about adapting his work into a film, but after learning that
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
had also expressed interest in adapting it to a feature, Herzog raced to acquire the rights and begin production.
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. 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
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
Thomas Mauch
Thomas Mauch (born 4 April 1937) is a German cinematographer and film producer. With a career that spans over fifty years in both film and television, Mauch is well known for his numerous collaborations with Edgar Reitz, Alexander Kluge, and Wern ...
walking out on the project after a perpetual torrent of verbal abuse from Kinski. Herzog was forced to replace Mauch with
Viktor Růžička.
DVD Verdict Review - Cobra Verde
Herzog's opinions of Kinski are 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. The filming of ''Cobra Verde'' and relationship of Herzog and Kinski was also the subject of a 1987 Swiss documentary film, '' Location Africa''.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
1987 films
1980s adventure drama films
German adventure drama films
West German films
1980s German-language films
Films directed by Werner Herzog
Films based on British novels
Films scored by Popol Vuh (band)
Films set in Africa
Films set in the 19th century
Films shot in Colombia
Films about slavery
Films shot in Benin
Films shot in Ghana
Films shot in Brazil
1987 drama films
1980s German films