1976 |
Franco Nero |
Western“Keoma” is a late Italo western highlight.
Directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Italo western legend Franco Nero, it is one of the best Italo westerns not directed by Sergio Leone.
While touching on themes of fascism and racism, “Keoma” is hellscape that’s almost surrealistic at times, cause there is a witch who visits Keoma in some kind of visions, which is something I haven’t seen before in any kind of western before. The night scenes are nightmarish and like always, the film is violent and super dirty. Like, the main town might be the most run down western town I’ve seen so far and Franco Nero looks as if he spent a year in the mud in preparation for this role. He looks super shabby.
But Nero is great again, delivering one of his strongest performances with some great moments. The other characters, like his father and George, work great too and his villain brothers make for a great idea. One of them, Orso Maria Guerrini, actually looks like evil Donald Sutherland. I liked the dynamics between the characters and Nero’s characters in this is one of his best.
The cinematography is absolutely beautiful with some great Peckinpah-esque slow-mo shots and a great look and the score is an all timer. I loved all the songs and the idea of the lyrics basically describing what’s going on may sound kinda silly, but worked very well for me and added to the atmosphere.
And atmosphere is the right word. Especially in its last third, “Keoma” is atmospherically very dense. From the moment the great shootout starts, the film gets a grip on you and doesn’t let go until the credits roll.
“Keoma” exceeded my expectations. A real highlight and a must watch for Italo western fans. An all around very well made film.
