Western Wednesdays: Keoma (1976)

     Keoma was released on November 25th, 1976. It is directed by Enzo G. Castellari and written by Castellari, Luigi Montefiori, Mino Roli, Nico Ducci, and Joshua Sinclair. In it Keoma (Franco Nero), a half breed Indian, returns home to find his half-brothers in alliance with a petty tyrant named Caldwell (Donald O'Brien), who has contaminated the town's water supply, causing a plague to break out among many of its poorer inhabitants. Keoma sets out to defeat Caldwell and restore justice to the town.

     Originally conceived as (yet another) sequel to Sergio Corbucci's Django (1966). It went through many rewrites before going into production (as is probably apparent from the sheer number of writers) and, ultimately, director Enzo Castellari ended up improvising and rewriting much of the film on set. Joshua Sinclair, who plays Keoma's brother Sam, wrote most of the dialogue, though Franco Nero contributed many of his own lines. Suffice to say, Keoma is a really strange western. Echoing Django, Sam Pechinpah's Pat Garret & Billy the Kid, and even Shakespeare's Macbeth, Keoma takes the classic spaghetti western trope of a man who places himself between competing factions in a town and ends up freeing it from their influence, and infuses it with social commentary, spiritual themes and existentialism.

     The western protagonist often seems to exist in two worlds, torn between the wilderness and civilization. This theme can be traced back to the very beginnings of the genre, in the novels of James Fenimore Cooper. At times there is a spiritual element to this. Characters like Shane and The Man With No Name posses almost supernatural qualities. Keoma takes this a step farther. He seems to drift between the spiritual and physical realms throughout the film. He continually converses with a mysterious old woman (played by Gabriella Giacobbe), referred to simply as "The Witch" in the credits, who seems to represent or be an embodiment of fate, similar to the witches in Macbeth. She tells him, "I changed destiny when I decided that you alone should survive that useless massacre," suggesting that she guided his adopted father to rescue him when his village was massacred.

     Another common trope in westerns, and especially in spaghetti westerns, is the Christ figure. Protagonists like Shane and Silence (from Corbucci's masterpiece, The Great Silence) suffer or sacrifice themselves for others at the hands of wicked men, as Jesus did. Keoma fits into this category as well. Nero is particularly adept at this kind of role. There's a danger behind his pale eyes but also a vulnerability. He brought those qualities fully to bear in Django and he does again here. Like Django and The Great Silence this film is concerned with the oppression of the poor by the rich, and Keoma is as much or more a figure of Marxist liberation as he is of Christian suffering. There was a strong current of Marxism in Italy in the years following WWII and it shows through in many Italian westerns. Caldwell uses his power and wealth to exploit the people of Keoma's hometown. Keoma is alone in opposing him through much of the film and is ultimately betrayed by his brothers and the people of the town. After defeating Caldwell, his brothers string him up on a wagon wheel (an image evocative of the Crucifixion) and convince the townsfolk that Keoma is to blame for their troubles. He is at first a source of inspiration for oppressed, but ends up becoming a scapegoat.

     Perhaps unsurprisingly given its haphazard script, Keoma is a somewhat messy film. There's a lot going on, between the central conflict between Keoma and Caldwell (who is ultimately a rather superfluous antagonist and is defeated rather easily), the not quite romance between Keoma and the pregnant woman with the plague who he rescues from Caldwell's men, and the family drama between Keoma, his adapted father, and his three brothers, who work for Caldwell only to betray him when their father is killed, there is a lot of plot to manage, and some things work better then others.

     The bizarre musical score, inspired by Bob Dylan's music for Pat Garret & Billy the Kid (1973), is easily the weakest aspect of the film. The rather banal lyrics, by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, are severely lacking in subtly. "Yeah, I'm here, In front of these men. Gun in hand, And waiting for what will be" (yes these are the actual lyrics). I can understand what they were going for, the film has a psychedelic feel and the score does contribute to this, but it was lacking in execution.

     It has a great cast. Nero is at his best here, bringing his striking facial features and unique physicality fully to bear. Woody Strode and William Berger, familiar faces for any fan of the genre, are also great. George, the broken down, disillusioned Civil War veteran, is one of Strode's best role while Berger, usually regulated to playing villains, puts in a really subtle and touching performance as Keoma's father William Shannon. Orso Maria Guerrini, Joshua Sinclair, and Antonio Marsina are all solid as Keoma's jealous brothers.Olga Karlatos is wasted in a rather thankless role as the woman Keoma saves as is Donald O'Brien as Caldwell. Leonardo Scavino fares better as the doctor who is sympathetic to Keoma and helps him to defeat Caldwell.

     Enzo G. Castellari's direction is superb. The flashbacks to Keoma's childhood are really well done and are blended seamlessly with the present, giving the film a disorienting, out of time quality. The action scenes are simply fantastic, anticipating John Woo with the use of slow motion camerawork. Aiace Parolin's cinematography is really striking and creates a contrast between the apocalyptic/medieval looking town and its picturesque surroundings.

     Keoma is on of the last great Spaghetti westerns. A flawed film, to be sure, it's also a fascinating one and features great performances from Franco Nero, William Berger and Woody Strode and exceptional direction from Castellari.

Score: 9/10