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Like many Italian films of the era, Keoma was shot without any real script; therefore the director, script writer and actors improvised from day to day, creating a melting pot of cultural influences as diverse as Shakespeare, the Bible, Peckinpah, Leone, Fellini and Pasolini. The soundtrack brings a dramatic dimension to it with the music of Leonard Cohen. The result is a baroque film with strong, symbolic connotations and surprisingly is a masterpiece of the genre. Franco Nero (Django) plays Keoma, a half Indian who, upon returning to his father, arouses the jealousy of his half-brothers but also delivers the town from the clutches of a gang. At the center of the film we find the theme switching between life and death, proof of which is the allegorical final sequence where the duel shown is parallel with a birth. References to the bible are omnipresent, giving the film a mystical aura. In fact, Keoma resembles Christ and the deliberately surreal scene where he finds himself attached to a wheel obviously refers to the crucifixion. The script is also built around the parable of the Prodigal Son returning home to the jealousy of his brothers, and the theme of fraternal jealousy is also very Shakespearean. Another mystical aspect is the presence of an old woman, part witch, part guardian angel whose apparitions are very surrealistic. The film also tackles racism, whether it's via the character of the mestizo rejected by his brothers or via the black slave who discovers that freedom does not necessarily mean respect from white people. Finally, we also find allusions to fascism. The plague, which is affecting the town, has pushed the elders to imprison the sick in a camp guarded by turrets. Whilst Nazism is commonly called the brown plague, it is clear that the camp in this film makes a reference to the concentration camps and that the lack of resistance by the town's inhabitants bears witness to the remorse felt by Italians towards their actions during the Second World War. While Franco Nero plays Keoma with a good dose of mystery thanks to his intense looks, the direction of Enzo G. Castellari succeeds in creating a surreal atmosphere and a lyrical violence which, without doubt, proves to be the driving force of this film. Castellari and Nero revisited the film in the 90's with the uncut version of Jonathan of the Bears. Relatively unknown, Keoma is a rare treasure of a spaghetti western which deserves attention.
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