Review of Cobra Verde (1987) by Michael L — 01 Apr 2007

[font=Century Gothic]In "Cobra Verde", Francisco Manoel da Silva aka Cobra Verde(Klaus Kinski) is the most feared bandit in all of Brazil. One day, he is hired by Don Octavio Coutinho(Jose Lewgoy) to be the new overseer of his plantation. He excels at his job but also impregnates three of the boss' teenaged daughters, angering him a great deal. In trying to decide what to do with da Silva, Coutinho and his cronies come up with a plan to send him to Africa to reopen the slave trade, so dangerous a mission that it is a veritable death sentence.[/font].

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[font=Century Gothic]Written and directed by Werner Herzog, "Cobra Verde" is a scathing indictment of the slave trade at a time when little value was given to a human life, laying blame equally on profiteers both in Africa and Brazil . All of which is seen through the eyes of the movie's amoral protagonist who ventures from one land to the other without ever truly fitting in.[/font].