Cobra Verde (1987)

Cobra Verde: Directed by Werner Herzog. With Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, José Lewgoy, Salvatore Basile. During the 1800s, paroled Brazilian bandit Cobra Verde is sent to West Africa with a few troops to man an old Portuguese fort and to convince the local African ruler to resume the slave trade with Brazil.

“In principle, I would feel tempted to give it only a six. Except that then there are u0026quot;butsu0026quot;… But there is Werner Herzog. But there is the sociopathically brilliant Klaus Kinski. But there is that unforgettable final scene. But there is the historic memory behind the story. But there are silent scenes of sheer contemplation. But there is the image of the fortress of Elmina (originally Ajudá, or Ouidah), that lingers long after you have seen the movie. But there is the amazing sensuality of all those female-warriors in beautiful war outfits. But there is that young girl singing near the end, the lavish, teasing, provocative, self-assured look on her face, the expression in her eyes, the crystalline/aggressive sound of her voice. And u0026#39;butu0026#39; there is the music. If you have read Bruce Chatwinu0026#39;s novel, you will be able to add up some details to the story line. The horror of the Kingdom of Daomé, for instance, is far from what BC described himself – and actually far from what history books tell us. In fact, you could build endless stories inside this movie. Thatu0026#39;s what makes it so good: all the things missing. It could have been a better achievement, but for all itu0026#39;s worth, itu0026#39;s really not the kind of movie youu0026#39;re likely to forget after a few weeks!”