Cobra Verde (1987) - full transcript

That will cost you money.

Ladies and gentlemen...

...you'll have to pay up...

... if you want me to sing
the ballad of Francisco Manoel...

...the bandit of Cobra Verde...

...the poorest of the poor...

...the master of the slaves...

It was he who became the Viceroy.

It was he who was
the Alonest of the alone.

Francisco Manoel's mother sighs,

Francisco, I feel only aches and dread.



Francisco Manoel's mother cries

Francisco, leave me.
I will soon be dead.

Eleven years of drought,
the rocks are sick.

The world is dying.
Evil is a trick.

I will die now. Be quiet,
or the bench will crack from sadness.

Do not move. Stay still.

The water, the earth
and the sun turn black.

God in His Perplexity,
pretends it's His Will.

Francisco, traveling,
reads a line in the sky.

''Don't set your eyes
on the salt sea shore.

Don't reason. Don't argue.
Don't ask us why.

Fate will send you a lover,
and one friend more.''

Based on the novel
''The Viceroy of Ouidah'' by Bruce Chatwin

His Royal Highness
Nana Agyefi Kwamell of Nsein



and with the girls
of the Zigi Cultural Troupe Ho Ziavi

Where's my money?!

Where's my money?! Where are
my partners?! Where's my money?!

Keep moving! Next?

What the hell are you doing here?
There's no money for you!

What? No! I can't believe it!

You know you don't get
any wages this week.

The bank kept it all! Get out!

There's no place here
for blood suckers.

You bastard! You cheated me!

I want you awake when you die!

It's Cobra Verde, the bandit!
Get the children in a safe place!

Go on, get it into the church!

That rifle stays outside!

Now, get that thing out of here,
or I'll throw you out!

I want something to eat!
Tell your parents Cobra Verde is here!

I have no parents! This is my bar,
and you don't frighten me!

My name is Francisco Manoel.

And my name is Euclides...

Euclides Alves da Silva
Pernambucano Wandereley.

I'm a da Silva too.

It's only my chest and shoulders
that are crooked- at night...

I always dream I have to carry
a whole mountain range on my back.

You stand straighter
than the whole town!

- I'm hungry.
- I'll bring you some food.

How do you know all these things?

From our priest,
and he learned them from our Bishop.

And where does the snow come from?

You'll see it out there!

There's always snow on the moon!

That's why it's always white!
White and cold.

You have to look very carefully.

Why is that?

It's because the moon...
takes the water out of the ocean.

And when night falls...

the tips of the mountains
attract the snowflakes.

But only as much salt
as we have in our tears.

And here on earth?

It's very far away-
you must keep going west.

Four years in horseback...
and ten on foot.

And after that,
there are high mountains.

They rise higher and higher-
right over the clouds.

And then above the clouds,
then you find the snow.

It only falls in the night-time.

Just like feathers. But it only falls...
from above the clouds.

And then the whole world
turns light as feather-

and snow white!

Even the lions turn white...
and the eagles...

the rabbits get a snowy coat...

and all the animals
in the world turn white!

And when you're walking
through the snow...

your feet don't weigh anything at all.

And the little snowflakes,
go flying up in the air...

just like feathers.

In a year or so,
I'm going to sell this bar.

And then go west,
and climb up the mountains.

I'm going east to the sea.

The Sertao dries our hearts,
and kills the cattle.

You'd better be very careful
when you go to the sea...

it's where the tempests are born...

and the snowflakes
have their cradle.

That's what the reverend father said!

I never had a friend in all my life...

Farewell.

Your money or your life!

My life.

Every day... you walk forty miles
through the thorns...

And why are you barefoot?
Don't you have any shoes?

I don't trust shoes.

And why don't you have a horse?

I'd never trust a horse.
And I don't trust people either.

But I long to go forth
from here to another world.

Stop him! Don't let him get away!

Don't run away.
It'll only be worse for you.

Let him go!

He can find the post by himself!

Hey, you with the bare feet.
What's your name?

Da Silva...
Francisco Manoel da Silva.

I am Colonel Octavio Cotinho.
I need a man like you.

I have six hundred slaves
in my sugar fields...

and my overseer is an idiot.

No one... grows more sugar than I do.

Now, if that's not enough,
you can always ask for more.

I've never had
this many clothes before.

You know, when I think
there are still some fields not planted...

with my sugar cane.

It makes me even madder
to think there are meadows...

where my cattle aren't grazing!

And when I think of
all the mulatto girls...

I haven't made pregnant yet, why,
that's quite beyond endurance.

Better watch out for the ladies,
my friend!

And when do I start work?

Oh, there's no hurry.
I'll show you everything.

You'll be the overseer here.

We harvest twice a year,
it's that fertile.

I've got another forty sugar
plantations just like this one.

I alone produce more sugar than
the whole state of Pernambuco.

A hundred thousand tons per year.

And all of it goes to England,
our enemy.

They've abolished the slave trade.
They seize our ships.

And yet, without us they
wouldn't have any sugar.

And the way they buy the sugar...

you'd think our rivers were
overflowing with the stuff.

Hah, it's grotesque.

You'll be in charge here, too.

This is where we squeeze
out the sugar cane...

and this is where
the juice is thickened.

We heat the molasses up to
a hundred and twenty degrees.

At this stage it's still a thin syrup.

In a couple of hours the
molasses will start to crystallize.

This is no easy task- every now
and then one of the workers...

collapses from the fumes.

But we've got enough of them.

As you see here we're ladling it
from one tub to another.

Don't run away.
Get a machete. Hurry!

We're going to have to
hack another arm off!

Is there nothing we can do?

Oh, this sort of thing
happens all the time.

How very strange. I haven't bred
any children yet today.

Come on. Come on then!

Hey, Francisco Manoel...
don't your shoes fit?

Tell me, did you ever learn
how to use a knife and fork?

The man from Santao doesn't
talk to just anyone!

How many cows did you own?

I have nothing to lose.
I don't have to talk to anybody!

I'll kill the lot of you!
My daughters are all whores.

Rutting with a barefoot cowherd!
Bonita you whore!

Bonita! Bonita! You filthy
little bitch! Bonita pregnant!

My little Bonita pregnant!

Wandeleide! Only fifteen years old
and she's pregnant!

Valkyria! Valkyria! Valkyria!

Valkyria, look me in the eye
and tell me the truth!

Are you pregnant too? Well!

No, I mean yes.
Daddy, I don't know!

Cowherd! Bastard! You!!!
What have you got to say for yourself!

Sugarcane planter.
I am the bandit Cobra Verde.

An outlaw in my own house!

A thief, a bandit, a criminal!

Let's put him on trial.

Just kill him.

The man's too dangerous.

We'd have three or four dead
before we finished him off.

Why not marry him off to
one of your daughters?

After all, isn't he the best man
on your plantation?

I'd have done that...

if the swine hadn't made
all three of them pregnant.

Send him to Africa to buy slaves.

What do you mean : ''buy slaves''?

We haven't had a slave from
Africa in the last ten years.

That's just the point.

We send him to a certain death.

The King of Dahomey is mad.

Anyone who sets foot on
his territory is killed on the spot!

Not one single white man has
come back alive from there...

in the last ten years.

And what if... and what if
the scum does manage it!

He'll never make it. I know Africa.

I know the Bight of Benin.

And if he does make it,
he'll bring back so many slaves...

you can extend your plantations
all the way to Sergipe.

Why don't you give him your
oldest daughter to marry?

Yes! Use him any way you can.

And as for the other two girls...
well, surely you can find...

some sort of husband for them.

If that doesn't appeal to you...

send them to the Carmelite Sisters.
The choice is yours.

I'll kill that pig!

I'll arrange everything
with my friend the governor.

Da Silva... we have
a special assignment...

which we can entrust
only to a capable man.

This is an official certificate
entitling you to practice...

the slave trade.

As you know, this trade
has fallen into stagnation.

The King of Dahomey
has cut off our supplies...

but we know he needs
weapons and money.

So, we propose the following :...

we will send you to our
Fort Elmina in Dahomey.

You will have rank as a lieutenant.

Your wages will be held for you
here in a special bank account...

in Bahia.

In five months' time, a ship with
a cargo of munitions will arrive.

You can pay the king with that.

We've also thought about Angola...

but the English Navy
have it blockaded.

Sailing around the Cape to
the east coast of Africa...

is impossible because the Arabs
monopolize the slave trade...

from Zanzibar on down.

The situation looks very
promising at this time...

because the King of Dahomey
is involved in a war with the Egbas.

And that means that he needs us
just as much as we need him.

When did you last
receive information?

It's been a long time since
we received any messages.

And we can't trust those
reports that we do get.

Will you accept our offer?

Yes.

Congratulations.

Here's your commission,
and the best of luck to you.

We've got a ship to outfit
for a long ocean journey.

Elmina, West Africa

Brazilian slave fortress in the country
of the sinister, demented King of Dahomey

Put me ashore- and give me
ten rifles to take along.

None of my crew would dare take you.

I can't force them.
We'll just have to wait...

... and see if the Africans
will come and fetch you.

Nobody there- what's the matter.
Here, take the telescope.

The fort seems dead to the world.

Usually they send out
one of their fetish priests...

praying for us to capsize in the surf.

All flotsam is the property of the king.

I've even seen them strip
a half-drowned sailor naked.

We'll just have to wait
and see what happens.

Thus far, Africa's quite
a disappointment.

- Hallelujah!
- Hallelujah!

Where is the barge full of silk?
And the coach and the horses?

What about the trumpets? And
what about the silver hunting rifles?

There will be no gifts.

Not even greyhounds?

Not even greyhounds.

There will be no gifts until your
king resumes the slave trade.

And turns over the fort to me.

Give me one of those rifles.

I'll make payment with rifles.

The powder we have here
takes a long time to speak-

- yours speaks at once.
- Keep it then.

Death to the white men!
Death to the white men!

You can live here if you like.

The west wing's in
reasonable condition.

And... you can help yourself
to one of my daughters.

She could... She could
live in the castle with you.

Are you running a brothel, or what?

No. I mean I'm doing this for free.

I need something to live on after all...

but I only do this for white men.

And you're the first one
who's come here... for a long time.

Mother of Jesus Christ and all
the saints be praised!

I am Taparica, the drum major...

the only survivor of the garrison.

I'm a free Yoruba...

and I served in the First Regiment
of the Black Militia.

Shall I show you where I live?

This is my home...

and these are
my brothers and sisters.

What happened here?

It all started very strangely.

They say the king in Abomey
is a little soft in the head.

He found slavery
to be a bad idea.

Instead of sending us slaves...

one day he sent us a
horse with only one ear.

Then they attacked us.

The governor was killed outright
in a skirmish on the coast.

Then they overran the fort
and plundered everything.

The Black Militia ran away, and
all the whites were murdered.

The skulls of the prisoners...

are now decorating the walls
of the Palace in Abomey.

They looted everything,
stole the bells...

and poked the eyes out of all the
portraits in the main building.

Then... they broke open the
rum barrels one by one...

and drank the lot!

They grabbed a cadet and
raped him in the courtyard.

They put ants on my chest...
pepper under my eyelids.

They burnt my tongue because they
claimed we were hiding a treasure.

They were just about to do their
worst when someone exploded...

the powder magazine with
a lighted torch.

They took seven corpses
from the wreckage...

... and after that
they left me in peace.

We do not know
who is buried where...

but I think this grave here
is the Governor's.

Why did you come...

all alone... without any soldiers?

Aren't you afraid...?
Aren't you afraid of dying...?

I never tried it.

What do we do now?

We wait.

Careful with that! Keep it up.

I've never seen a
white man work before!

Get out of my way!
I've got to hold up the front!

Spiritus sanctus...

sanctus...

Come on, let me through here...!

You filthy pig! I don't want to
see you here anymore.

Get out, and stay out!

Only three hundred slaves?
That doesn't make full use...

of the hold capacity, but
it's better than nothing.

Our friends in Brazil will be surprised.

Of course twenty per cent of
the sales price will be paid...

into your bank account.

Have you got any firearms?

One hundred and forty
with ammunition.

Silk?

Five bales. lt isn't the best quality...

but here they don't
know the difference.

Rum?

Ten barrels.

How about tobacco?

Unfortunately it got damp and
we had to throw it overboard.

Next time you'll have to bring...
more firearms.

Has that war with the Egbas
flared up again?

The information that
gets here is... incomplete...

We have to rely on guess-work.

May I make a... personal remark.

Go ahead.

We tried to... if I might say so...

consider all the possibilities
when we sent you down here.

But we never expected...
to see you again...

Why do you suppose
they're sending you slaves?

I suppose they need me.

You can best guess their age...
from their teeth.

Actually they're lucky.
We're saving their lives.

During their annual ceremonies, their
customs would have them sacrificed

to the king's ancestors as messengers.

They'd be dispatched
to the other world.

But now we are sending
them to a wonderful land...

where the cigars grow on trees
and everyone dances.

Find out what's going on!

It is Bossa. Bossa Gelele.
He's the king's older brother.

All men and children with the
first name Bossa are to be killed.

The king can't stand to have
anyone else in his domain...

with his first name, Bossa.

His name is Bossa, Bossa Ahadee.

He knows customs won't allow
him to kill his own brother...

of the solid soil of his kingdom.

That's why he's being taken out
to the sea to be drowned.

White man, when the king searches
for someone, he can't hide.

Even if he flees beneath the earth...

the ground will talk!

The leopard has begotten
a son with a female human.

The leopards mighty claw...

has left an indelible mark
on the child's temples.

Now the holy... Leopard's son...

declares that he
loves the white man.

Is the white man in good health?

The new white man
comes from across the sea.

He has seen many things.

The king has prepared a
king's road for him.

The king wishes to see the stranger.

The king has dictated this message
for you to his royal scribe.

I am Portuguese...

held captive by this horrible king
these last sixteen years.

He does not know I am
writing this. Beware!

If you come here, you're a dead man.

Tell his majesty... I must always
have one foot in the sea...

I cannot come.

Seize him.

Abomey
Residence of the King

I wish I had your skin.

The black people believe
the Devil is white.

The leopard has risen.

The leopard takes his seat.

Dada, breathe for me! Dada, steal
from me. Dada, break my bones.

Take me! My head is yours.
My body is yours. Take me.

It's yours. I'm all yours.
Dada! Please!

The bush king takes his seat.

What does that mean?

That is the bush king.
He doesn't exist.

That is, he only exists
in the king's imagination.

But the two kings rule together.

The leopard speaks!

For the annual ceremony
all dogs must be slaughtered-

the preceding night
at the Gate of Tears.

The dogs assemble in the streets,
and try to talk like humans.

But if they succeed, it will
bring a plague upon the people.

We must conquer the Egbas!

We shall break Abeokuta!

My house needs thatching!

I'll thatch my roof with
the skulls of my enemies.

How are my brethren?
Answer, white man before I kill you!

How is the health
of the King of Prussia?

How is my brother,
the Tsar of Russia?

And how is Queen Victoria,
whose heart is a big calabash...

overflowing with palm wine
for the thirsty man?

I can't hear what you said...

I can't hear you.

Prepare for your death, stranger.
Time doesn't occur to the king.

The Devil is white. Death is white!
All whites are half dead.

That's what they always do before
they behead a white man.

They have painted your face black...

because they are not
allowed to kill a white man.

I'm not afraid of you.

In this place, the dead are
more alive than the living.

No one may see the leopard
while he drinks.

Hey, white man. One day
I will drink from your skull!

This was the King of the Mahis.

The dead eat so...
The dead drink so.

I have sworn, in my swearing house...
to conquer the Egbas.

I fear nobody.
I have only one fear.

And that is that one day...

there may be anyone left
to be conquered.

But tell me, white man...
why have the Portuguese...

brought three hundred and thirty-five
thousand warships to my shore?

And why did you
poison my greyhound?

The snow... the... snow.

Quickly! Quickly! Kill the guards!

I am Bakoko,
the confidant of the prince.

Prince Kankpe is waiting for you.
Quickly, stranger, come with me!

Where is Taparica!
You must take Taparica along!

Why did you free us?

Prince Kankpe has decided to
revolt against his uncle Ahadee.

He is the rightful heir to the throne.

Yesterday, King Bossa Ahadee
went up north with his entire army.

Out there live many hills.

We must overcome Bossa Ahadee.
But we'll need your help to do it.

Our rebel warriors
have all disappointed us.

The women are much more brave.

My father.

The traitor must die.

He has opened up the
graves of our ancestors!

We will go down to
the fortress on the coast...

and there we will establish
an army of Amazons.

The prince would like to make a
pact of blood brotherhood with you.

Blood brothers do not kill each other.

If the new king will turn over
the slave trade to me...

...then I am his man.

Does he have the vaguest notion
what we're talking about?

He is in agreement.
He has no choice.

He says yes to anything.
You see, he is quite insane.

All right! Over there!
What a wretched mess.

Listen to me! I said over there!
All of you!

You'll have to get up quicker,
if you don't want to get killed.

I've got four hundred new recruits.
Where do you want them?

Not over here.
Take them down to the shore.

They all want to fight!
They want to kill all the men.

Don't bother me now.

I've got to get this herd
of women organized first.

- Shields up!
- Watch what you do with that spear!

All right! Now, fight!

No, you've got it all wrong!

You've got to hold
your spear like this...

and keep your feet moving.
Like this!

Here, you take it.

Attack, damn you!

Let's have that cutlass!
Come on, attack! Attack!

Keep your spear up!
Defend yourself.

Cover your body with the shield!

If you trip and fall,
it's the end of you! Haaa! Haaa!

Come on! Get a move on!

One! Two!

Three! Four!

Five! And take the enemy!

Not bad... All right, now get
back in your starting positions.

Come on, quicker, keep moving!

And now... ready!?

Attack position.
No, no, no, no!... At ease!

The whole thing again faster!
In position!

One! Two! Three!

Who told them they could take a rest?

Who told them they could take a rest?

On your feet now, come on.

- Keep on moving!
- Come on, come on!

Get up!

We don't want to practice anymore.
We want to fight!

I swear I will bring back Bossa
Ahadee's head- single-handed!

No, you're not yet ready.

You've got to keep on practicing.
You've got to obey my orders.

Come on. I don't want to hear
any more from you.

I want you to hear what
I have to say. I command here.

No one else! And we're going
to continue practicing.

No more arguments from you.
Only that way can we succeed.

We will storm the palace
soon enough.

I've made my decision! We attack!

We march out tomorrow.
Fight, fight, fight, fight...

Fight, fight, fight, fight...

Off to Abomey!

They have taken the
sacred python from the temple.

We must turn back-
nobody gets past it alive!

In my country, I was a snake myself!

Out of the way! Attack! Attack!

The dead kings have deposed you.

So, now I will go and sleep.

Wall up the doors
to the women's quarters.

No! Don't let him get away!
Stop him! Hold Him!

Stay back. His wives will
strangle him now.

The new king takes his seat!

Shall I ask him to approach?

He has given you
the name Adjinakou-

that means ''green snake''.

He has appointed you
Viceroy of Dahomey.

Our King Kankpe gives you Fort
Elmina as your official residence.

We have to remove the glass
windows from the main house.

The servants sprinkled
them with water...

because they believed the
rising sun set them on fire.

You'd do better to see to it...

the ventilation in the slave
quarters is improved.

- Too many are dying.
- Yes, Adjinakou.

We'll have to get them shipped faster.

The captain of the Flor de Bahia
has the best quarters in town-

I gave him the east wing.

And the relays are all prepared.

Tomorrow they will all be in position.

The distance is twenty-three
thousand five hundred bamboo poles.

That will be a great
surprise for our king.

They're offering you a place in
the syndicate back in Bahia.

I don't need that crap!

And why haven't I received
the ships that I asked for?

I don't know, Don Francisco.

But I will bring it to
the governor's attention...

- as soon as I return.
- This is an outrage!

This is the second shipment of slaves
you've received without payment.

I'm not sure I can trust your word.

Sometimes I get a bit tired.

Tonight I won't take any of them.

Which one would you like to have?

That one.

You there- come on up!

Yes, you!

If they get pregnant,
they aren't taken aboard.

Then they get their own hut out here.

We've already got
a whole village full of them.

- Who are these women?
- Our future murderers.

Send the signals!
I want to write a letter for you...

to take back to my partners in Brazil.

It's going to take about
an hour and a half...

before I get an
answering signal anyway.

I cannot begin to describe this
cretinous existence of mine.

Nor how lonely it is to be
without family or friends.

The only white man in this country...

perhaps on this whole continent.

Meanwhile I have become the
father of sixty-two children...

but this gives me no satisfaction.

Perhaps next year
I shall come back and marry.

I would live in the lands
of ice and snow...

anywhere to be away from here...

The heat here is
mean and inescapable.

It courses through the
bodies of the people like a fever-

and yet my heart grows
colder and colder.

Adjinakou... there's
an answer coming back.

The king sends his brother the
Royal Leopard Salute.

This one's about nineteen-
looks strong and healthy.

He must be about twenty-five-
a good, hard boy.

This one's about the same age.
And he's a very strong boy also.

- You obviously like my nuns' choir.
- Nun's choir. Not bad.

Do you know Pedro Vincente,
the captain of the Flor de Bahia?

Yes, I do.

How much would some
interesting news be worth to you?

I won't cheat you.

Pedro Vincente took a large
consignment of slaves off your hands.

He never paid.

Then let me tell you what
I saw with my own eyes.

The Flor de Bahia was
brimming over with cargo.

He cheated you.

He's gone and dumped all his
weapons and goods to the British-

made a double profit on the deal.

And guess what happened
to the Flor de Bahia!

She's drifting off shore
near Lagos... unseaworthy.

And on top of that,
the crew has mutinied...

which means now
you've got him trapped.

You take a cutter and deliver
a message to Captain Vincente.

''Come here. I'll re-equip you.
Nobody cheats me twice.''

Come on, move on...
and take everything.

Hey! What is the meaning of this?

Our King Kankpe was never insane.
He only pretended to be.

He thanks his brother,
who was once the viceroy.

The blood brother of the king
was a big tree...

... and that's what he
wants you to know.

Why does the king speak
of me only in the past tense?

Adjinakou, things look very bad...

but as long as Kankpe is king
you're fairly safe.

He would never kill a blood brother.

There are still some rifles in there.

Where's his money?
Come on, hurry up!

- Do you really want to help me?
- I keep my word.

But that won't help me anymore...

and it won't help you either!

Brazil's joined the rest of the world...

and abolished the slave trade.

Any shipments currently under way...

will be seized on the high seas.

In the eyes of the law...

Fort Elmina and our lives
have ceased to exist.

And while I'm at it,
there's something else.

I know that for at least one year...

you've been slandered and cheated
by your partners in Bahia.

Your assets have all been
confiscated by the state bank.

And in addition, the English
have put a price on your head.

Finally something's happened.

Finally something's happened.

To slavery...

the greatest misunderstanding
in the history of mankind!

It was no misunderstanding.
It was a crime.

Slavery is an element of the
human heart... To our ruin!

The slaves will sell their masters
and grow wings.