Keoma (1976)

Yes, it’s another installment of Mubi Monday. No, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke. This week we get back to feature length films and look at a spaghetti western with…Keoma (1976).

Title: Keoma

Director: Enzo G. Castellari

Released: November 25, 1976 (Italy)

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Tubi, and of course on Mubi (here’s a month of Mubi on me)

Keoma (Franco Nero) is a part-white and part-Indigenous former Union soldier. When he returns home, he realizes home is nothing like what he left.

The smallpox epidemic ravages the entire town while the landowner, Caldwell (Donald O’Brien), cruelly rules with an iron fist. Caldwell ships all infected townspeople to the mines to die, and those who resist face immediate execution. Meanwhile, the lucky few who avoid the mines must survive without access to food or medicine.

A pregnant woman by the name of Lisa, (Olga Karlatos), has not yet come down with smallpox but finds herself being shipped off to the mines. Keoma decides that he is unable to stand back and do nothing. While Lisa is in transit to the mines, Keoma leaps into action to free her. However, there’s one thing Keoma never expected when he finds himself facing off against Caldwell’s men…his three half-brothers.

Can Keoma find it in himself to take on his own brothers in order to save his town?

Admittedly, westerns are more of a blind spot for me than other genres, spaghetti westerns are even more of an outlier. That being said, Keoma (1976) was a wild ride, and I can see why some people may not like it.

The song throughout is one that was like nails on a chalkboard at-first. But by the end of the film, while I didn’t grow to like the song, it didn’t bother me as much. It’s three people singing/screeching the plot to us as it unfolds. Is it perfect? Not by any means. However, it still manages to serve a purpose and is effective in doing so.

If you’re looking for a hearty plot to go along with your western, look elsewhere. The plot here is paper thin, but that’s okay. Luckily, Franco Nero turns in such a solid performance as Keoma that the lack of overall plot never really phased me. Is he fantastic as an Indian? Again, no. But it’s something I’m able to look past.

One of the things we all watch westerns for is the shootouts. Keoma (1976) more than delivers on that front. If you happen to like your shootout action in slow-motion, you’re in for a treat. There are more slow-motion shootout scenes that I would have expected to see, yet they all somehow manage to work. The main shootout looks fantastic and gives us a score that is a welcomed reprieve from the sing-songy narrative that is screeched at us throughout.

While I’m no expert on what makes a “good” spaghetti western, I will say that if you can look past the lack of any depth in the plot, you’ll have a fun time with Keoma (1976).

Well, those are my thoughts but now it’s time for yours.

If you’ve seen Keoma (1976), tell me what you thought of it in the comments below or on social media!

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