KEOMA(1976)

In anticipation for the release of Quentin Tarantino's new film DJANGO UNCHAINED I'm going to be watching and writing a lot of westerns primarily Spaghetti Westerns. With the exception of the super popular one's (THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY) my knowledge of spaghetti westerns is limited. So this should be an interesting endeavor to say the least.

To kick off this series let's start with a film that stars the original Django himself the one the only Franco Nero in KEOMA.

Returning from the Civil War half breed Keoma arrives back to home only to find that his town has gone all to hell. Now a ghost town full of outlaws and a plague outbreak causing panic throughout the territory. It's up to Keoma and his former slave friend George to rid the town of it's sadistic bloodthirsty bandits whom three members just so happen to be Keoma's half brothers.

Director Enzo G. Castellari (1990: BRONX WARRIORS, INGLORIOUS BASTARDS) creates a nice atmosphere in KEOMA with stylistic references to other iconic western films, some interesting symbolism, and most importantly lots of gunfights and violence. I have seen three Castellari films now and I plan to see more but I can finally see why Quentin Tarantino loves the filmmaker.

Franco Nero is a complete bad ass as Keoma! After watching KEOMA I made a note to myself to watch more Franco Nero movies. Franco is just such a cool force to be reckoned with in KEOMA. Spoiler alert! I love the scene where Keoma basically “Hulks-Out” after his adoptive father gets gunned down. Franco just has these eyes of intensity and rage that's just amazing.

Keoma's three half brothers are all amazing in this! Layers in their performances delivering smart and clever twists. The dynamics between Keoma and his brothers is very compelling and touching, I genuinely felt sad for Keoma.

With the exception of the films story and plot kinda getting a little sloppy I highly recommend KEOMA to spaghetti western and action movie fans.