While I can respect all the work that Werner Herzog and his crew went through to make "Cobra Verde", to me the film is flawed because the main character (played by Klaus Kinski) is too one-dimensional. Once the movie is finished, you really know almost nothing about the guy--he is that big a cypher.
The film begins in South America. Francisco Manoel da Silva (Kinski) is a bandit so feared that when he enters towns, just about everyone runs in terror. Despite this, he manages to obtain a job with a Brazilian slave plantation owner. But, Francisco impregnates ALL of the boss' daughters and as punishment is sent to Africa to buy slaves--because the boss figures that the king in Dahomey (today known as Benin) will kill Francisco like he'd done to all the other recent white traders. However, instead, the king welcomes him and Francisco is allowed to renew the slave trade. But, when there is a revolt, Francisco leads an odd army of bare-chested women and he conquers the kingdom. Now he imagines incredible wealth and things look wonderful for the newly christened 'Cobra Verde'. Unfortunately, this was not to be. See the film and see what I mean.
This film looks great. As usual, Werner Herzog is willing to go to the most far off places in order to get the look just right. Like several of the previous Herzog-Kinski projects, this one must have been hellishly difficult to make. Unfortunately, like so many other Herzog films, the leading man seems VERY one-dimensional and difficult to accept or relate to because of this lack of depth. Francisco was a bad guy but his motivations, likes, dislikes, and even personality are all lacking. Because of this, although the film is interesting and lovely locales are used, I am only mildly encouraging you to watch it. This film is clearly NOT a film that the average person would enjoy, though I did like the ending in the surf--a fascinating scene and nice ending.
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