Töte Amigo

'A Bullet For The General' is my favourite non-Sergio Leone spaghetti western. It actually has some connection with Leone as it was directed by Damiano Damiani, who Leone later co-directed 'A Genius, Two Friends and an Idiot' with, and stars Gian Maria Volonte who fans will recognize from 'A Fistful Of Dollars' and 'For A Few Dollars More'. On top of that the legendary Klaus Kinski, who was also in 'For A Few Dollars more' (as well as many other spaghetti westerns) plays Volonte's brother. One thing I should point out is that despite Kinski getting second billing, and having his photo alone splashed all over the cover of the video I watched, he's not in the movie all that much, so be warned. Volonte's REAL co-star is Lou Castel, best known to me from his work in 'Orgasmo' and 'Killer Nun'. Castel plays "Gringo" a mysterious American who ingratiates himself into a gang of bandits led by El Chuncho (Volonte) after a train robbery. El Chuncho takes an immediate liking to Gringo and they joins forces, selling weapons to Mexican revolutionaries. Volonte and Castel make a terrific duo, as good as Eastwood and Wallach in 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. Klaus Kinski as I say has little screen time, but is always a pleasure to watch, and plays an unusual role for him, the saintly El Santo. Added to that is the presence of the stunning Martine Beswicke ('One Million Years BC', 'Dr Jekyll And Sister Hyde'), one of the most beautiful actresses of all time. Boy, do I never get tired of looking at her! 'A Bullet For The General' works as exciting entertainment, but the relationship between the two main characters is interesting, and the atmospheric background of the Mexican Revolution (this is two years before 'The Wild Bunch' remember) makes this recommended viewing. Finally, the ending is a killer, and El Chuncho's parting lines are unforgettable. If you've seen Leone's best westerns and 'The Wild Bunch' put 'A Bullet For The General' right at the top of your "to see" list. You won't regret it.

A band of Mexican gun-runners employed by a revolutionary general lure an American mercenary into joining their gang, unaware that he is targeting their general.

Damiano's film has been called a "serious statement about the Mexican Revolution" and has been recognized as an accomplished blend of "tension, action, politics and history". Now, I'm not sure what the "serious statement" is. That Americans would intercede? That bandits could be radicalized? The soundtrack is from some of Italy's best, but the music is unfortunately not that notable. What draws many people to the film is Klaus Kinski, who is great, but the bizarre dubbing makes him seem fake and unable to really provide his presence to the screen.

Damiano Damiani's 1966 film 'A Bullet for the General' is one of the first examples of the Zapata Western, a sub-genre of the Spaghetti Western that mostly dealt with political themes during the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century. Gian Maria Volontè plays El Chucho, the leader of a Mexican bandit gang who earn their pay selling arms to revolutionaries - he meets with a suave gringo named Bill Tate (played by Lou Castel) who claims to be on the run from the law and soon finds himself inducted into the group and deep in the heart of the Mexican revolution.

Despite the simple sounding premise 'A Bullet for the General' displays a great depth of character as the protagonists relationships shift with the plot before inevitably exchanging roles. The first hour or so seems like a standard western affair with lots of the usual train hi-jacks and bandit raids, but as the characters develop and their relationships become more strained we see some marvellous performances from the suspicious El Chucho, his brother El Santo (a fanatical Christian revolutionary played by Klaus Kinski) and the cool and un-flustered Bill 'Niño' Tate.

The doubt displayed by El Chucho towards Tate really sets up the finale, and as the film nears the heart of the revolution Tate's motives become clear - but that doesn't stop Damiani pulling a nice twist at the end, endearing Volontè's character and providing a juxtaposition to the characters he made famous in some of Sergio Leone's classic Spaghetti Westerns. In a film dealing largely with role-reversal this is particularly apt.

I didn't quite know what to expect from 'A Bullet for the General', I hadn't previously heard of the director and apparently this was his first foray into the Western genre - but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Providing a good mix of action and politics with commendable performances from Volontè, Kinski and Castel 'A Bullet for the General' is an intriguing and unique example of the Spaghetti Western and well worth your time whether you're a fan of the genre or not.

In revolutionary Mexico American John Tate hooks up with a band of outlaws lead by Chuncho. They are "collecting" guns for the revolution. Tate, called Nino by his new friends, tags along as they get guns, free the poor and attempt to get paid for their efforts.

Thats wildly simplified and doesn't do the complexity of this film justice. What is going on in the film is often not apparent until you get to the very end of the movie. No one is who they seem to be and everyone has some sort of other motive for what they are doing. Its a complex film that you have to stay with since you can never be certain what is going on.

For a long stretch of the film I wasn't certain what I thought of it. As I said, this is a story that is ever changing and evolving as it goes, and which you can't say whether you like or not until you get to the very end. It seems like an enjoyable mean but slightly confused western for most of its running time. Our nominal hero, Nino, rapidly evolves into something else. He is always up to something and rarely is it any good. He's hard to root for, or even to like. You instead you have to root for Chuncho, which is a bit odd at first since he's a "bandit" and the "bad guy". By the end you're rooting for Chuncho, while you're still not sure about Nino. In the end though it all comes together, and it reveals itself to be a quite special movie.

This is a movie to see if you like westerns, or even good movies for that matter. Its a film that engages you and moves you and your emotions. Its nice that an entertaining film such as this can also have other things on its mind yet not get lost on those other things or lose the enjoyment factor (there's a good deal of political satire woven into the story).

Definitely recommended.

RELEASED IN 1967 (but not till 1968 in the USA) and directed by Damiano Damiani, "A Bullet for the General" (aka "El Chuncho") takes place during the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s and involves a gang of gunrunners led by El Chuncho (Gian Maria Volontè) and enlisted by a revolutionary general (Jaime Fernández). They allow a taciturn American gringo into their band (Lou Castel), oblivious to his objectives. Klaus Kinski plays the semi-crazy priest of the bandits (I mean revolutionaries) while Martine Beswick is on hand as the babe of the bunch.

This is a decent Spaghetti Western focusing on Mexican bandits. The tone is serious and the cast, costumes, dirt and sweat lend to the gritty realism. The opening sequence where a munitions train is forced to stop due to a crucified army captain blocking the tracks is notable. The script respects the intelligence of the viewer and doesn't spell everything else, even while everything is obvious if you read between the lines. Volontè, who plays the filthy, but amicable Mexican protagonist, is best known for his roles with Clint Eastwood in "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964) and "For a Few Dollars More" (1965). The score by Luis Bacalov is quite good and was supervised by the inimitable Ennio Morricone.

THE FILM RUNS 115 minutes and was shot in Almería & Guadix, Spain, with indoor sequences done in Rome. WRITERS: Salvatore Laurani and Franco Solinas.

GRADE: C+/B-