World Cinema Panorama review - 35 COWS AND A KALASHNIKOV by Oswald von Richtofen

Impressions of Africa. Oswald von Richtofen's last film 35 Cows anbd a Kalashnikov was screened in the World Cinema Panorama section of the 22nd Febiofest - Prague International Film Festival.

 

Acclaimed producer and filmmaker Oswald von Richtofen recently passed away, left us with a beautiful documentary tryptich about three colourful and different communities residing in Africa. One is the Suma tribe of cattle farmers and warriors from Southern Ethiopia, who express their artistry by turning their own bodies into works of art through body painting and other types of body modifications. The other two are from Congo. One is from Brazzaville, the capital of country, where colourfully dressed dandies roam the streets proudly following their "you are what you wear motto". In Kinshasa, von Richtofen documents on professional (or as they call it "witchcraft") wrestlers fighting it out for their fifteen minutes of fame.

 

This is not the typical African documentary. For starters, it is a very subjective and adventurous feature, focusing less on the political side of Africa, and feeling more like a celebration of its unusual vanities, unfamiliar forms of expressions and fascinatingly bizarre blends of traditions, widely unblemished by the western world. In this way, 35 Cows and a Kalashnikov also feels like a direct descendant of the travelogues of old, from the very beginnings of cinema, whose exponent filmmakers laid down the blueprints that shaped and identified different far away countries on a universal level. On the other hand, it is the equivalent of the direct and personal influence that an artist can be awakened to upon travelling.

 

In the latter sense, it recalls the impressionist paintings of Gauguin in Tahiti more than anything of a strict documentary nature. In the territories explored here, von Richtofen found his inspirational promised land. This approach is further enhanced by the cinematography, with its attention to detail, whether it is by shooting the beauty of the ebony skin and flesh of the Suma warriors with their scars and paint in extreme close-up, or the details of sheen and polish in the shoes of the Congolese dandies. The careful and creative editing helps in achieving this pictorial approach, and 35 Cows and a Kalashnikov's different visual sequences and shots put together legitimately feel like paintbrush strokes on a canvas.

 

The sensorial experience is rather autorial and individualistic, very stylised from the framing of the camera to the actual subtitles, unusually included in the film less as captions, more like an integral part of the overall visual style. On top of that, unaffected by socio-political agendas, music plays a key role in the feature. It was originally composed for the film, some influenced directly by traditional afro beats, but mostly spectacularly orchestral. If there was one flaw to point out, it would be that perhaps this aspect is a little overdone. 

 

Nevertheless, it is part of the playfulness and passion of 35 Cows and a Kalashnikov, one of the most beautiful celebrations of African cultures of recent times. Bravely discovering cultures that are mostly unknown - one can only assume that in itself must have been quite a challenge. An delightful excercise in filmmaking poetry full of awe and passion, and a great last hurrah for Oswald von Richtofen.