Aaaahh waaannnaa ddddiieeeee

Bezenby

Notable actors: Franco Nero! William Berger! Olga Karlatos! Orso Maria Guerri! Antonio Marsina! Joshua Sinclair! Woody Strode! Donald O'Brien! Massimo Vanni!

Guido and Maurizio De Angelis Soundtrack!

This is one of my favourite Westerns; A windy, filth covered, Shakespearean dystopic nightmare where just about every character lives in a physical and mental hell that seems to end in some sort of bizarre Nativity play!

In an empty town where the only sound is the wind and a door banging, the most raggedy-ass gunslinger you've laid eyes on arrives, and is only noticed by an old woman scrabbling about in a pile of rubbish. The gunslinger is Keoma, just returned from fighting in the civil war. The old woman may or may not exist at all, as the only person who interacts with her is Keoma himself. Keoma does pause long enough to have a flashback to being rescued from a massacre, and you'll notice in this film, people have flashbacks to a more colourful time, while they also remain in shot, looking at their younger selves.

Keoma finds that all is not well in the place he grew up. A mysterious plague has taken over the town, but the town's new leader, a jerk called Caldwell, will not help the townsfolk and instead has his men forced sick people to work in a mine. Keoma also finds that even though his father is still around, he's too old now to take on Caldwell himself, plus Keoma's half brothers have sided with Caldwell "because he's the strongest". Keoma's old friend George (Woody Strode), who tutored Keoma as a kid (and plays a nifty banjo) has now turned into a hopeless drunk who is racially abused by Caldwell's men.

What really sets Keoma off however is the treatment of a pregnant woman (a nice vulnerable turn from Olga Karlatos). He finds her being carted off to the mines, and we find out very shortly into the film that Keoma is the quickest draw in the land, as he unloads his shotgun directly into Massimo Vanni's chest. This is all basically leading up to a showdown between Keoma and Caldwell, his many minions, and the three brothers.

There's a lot of trippy stuff going on in this film, and a lot of mumbly philosophy from Keoma, George and Keoma's Dad (the great William Berger), but the film is directed by Enzo Castellari, a man who never forgets the action. When things do finally kick off big style later in the film, the kill count goes absolutely through the roof, and that's before the gunfight that happens during the birth of Olga's kid (in a barn, while Keoma fights the three wise men I guess).

Enzo's eye for a strange angle or shot is amped up to the max, as is the slow motion, so that's good too. What puts people off however is the soundtrack, which features a lady doing a falsetto while a man does what sounds almost like Siberian throat singing. I don't mind it though - it adds to the otherworldly feel of the film, and if you can make out the lyrics, you'll find out why Keoma protects Olga so much (she remind him of his mum!).

There's good performances from William Berger (the man can excude genuine charm), Nero (who appears to be covered in filth from head to toe, but does his most expressive 'wet eye' acting) and Olga Karlatos (who is resigned to death and can't believe someone's helping her). Donald O'Brien, Joshua Sinclair and such like don't get too much room to move however as the bad guys.

Words can't do this one justice, really. And remember: No man born free shall ever die!

score 9/10

Bezenby 25 August 2018

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4304047/