Une fille nommée Apache

"Apache Woman" is a low budget Italian rip-off based quite obviously on Ralph Nelson's "Soldier Blue", but it is not a bad movie. Al Cliver has hardly been in many better ones, and he stars as the soldier who is lost in the wilderness and tries to get back to his comrades. However, he falls in love with an Indian woman (Yara Kewa), the only survivor of a massacre, and that is a really complicated relationship! They don't trust each other, they don't understand a word of the other's language, but they can only survive together. Even though "Apache Woman" can't resist some nudity and brutality (director McRoots alias Mariuzzo is known for working with zombie expert Lucio Fulci), it has a lot of subtle moments, too, especially when the soldier and the woman have to communicate with nods and smiles. It fortunately takes the necessary time for a few peaceful moments and thus develops the characters a bit. So, more than you'd expect from the advertising and one of the better films from the end of the spaghetti western era, because it successfully imported elements of the depressive American post-western, when the Django avenger pose had become obsolete. (Note: I have watched the Italian language print, running 85 minutes. It seemed to have a few censorship cuts for violence.)

This Ravioli Western contains noisy action , shootouts , ravage , fighting , a love story , lots of blood and guts and a big deal of gratuitous violence . It deals with Tommy (Al Cliver), an innocent cavalry soldier and an Indian survive an attack , both of whom will have to pay a dear price for love and will find a lots of dangers . The Indians then seek revenge on the Blue soldiers accused of the attack , killing eye for an eye . In the meantime , Tommy falls in love for the beautiful Apache woman (Yara Kewa who spends 90 percent of the film partially naked) after rescuing her from an ominous gun smuggler and general supplies deliverer named Honest Jeremy (Corrado Olmi) ; but , a bit later on , gruesome violence ensues . As when Keith (Federico Boido or Rick Boyd) and his contemptible gang find Tommy , they kidnap The Apache Woman and rape her , but she puts up a brave fight against superior numbers . After that , another prospector captures and ties her ; then , she is subsequently freed . Along the way , many chases and fights ensue and the events gets worse . As the duo protagonists are drawn to a community of white people who are all racists , bigots , sleazebags, murderers and cutthroats .

This is an exciting story with tragic results about two survivors of a cavalry attack that make their way back to an army outpost ; packing some good action , nasty characters , exploitation , rampage , nudism , but lots of dull spots . Gratuitously violent late Spaghetti-era Old Western hits hard on racial themes . This ¨Apache woman¨ has an anti-military message and dealing with hardship on racial themes by that time , as well as excessive brutality . As the main cast , Al Cliver and Clara Hopf or Yara Kewa are attacked and will have to face off deal of risks and taking on a cutthroat weapons smuggler , prospectors , revengeful Indians and a heinous family headed by a villainous preacher until a final massacre . The confrontation amongst the cavalry and the hapless Indians is thrilling and extremely violent . As the movie's central theme is the racism that ¨Apache woman¨ is subjected by a band of despicable people . ¨Una Donna Chiamata Apache" or "Apache Woman" results to be a rip-off on ¨Blue Soldier¨ by Ralph Nelson with Peter Strauss and Candice Bergen , this film was based on real deeds regarding ¨Sand Creek massacre¨ and with remembrance about Vietnam killings . Other films about this peculiar sub-genre about relationship between Indian-white man harassed by several enemies are the followings : ¨Scalps¨ (1987) by Bruno Mattei with Mapi Galán , Vassili Karis , Charlie Bravo , ¨Apache Kid¨ (1987) by Claudio Fragasso with Sebastian Harrison , Albert Farley , Lola Forner and ¨Cry for Me, Billy¨ (1972) by William A Graham with Cliff Potts , Maria Potts and Harry Dean Stanton . The highlights of the movie are , of course , the violent attacks , they result to be strong butcheries , real slaughters , including rape and gory scenes . The climax is really bleak and pessimistic . The tragic love between soldier and his Indian squaw is portrayed with little believability and delicacy . This so-so motion picture is classified ¨R¨ for the cruel murders and isn't apt for little boys , neither squeamish . It displays acceptable action sequences in low budget with rousing attacks , poor scenarios and spectacular struggles .

Emotive musical score in Country style , including guitar sounds and catching song played by Judy Hill . This knock-off picture was regularly directed by Giorgio Mariuzzo , though he develops an extreme exploitation violence . Mariuzzo is an usual writer in several movies as "Fulci's The House by the Cemetery" , ¨The Beyond¨, "Contraband" , ¨Decameroticus¨ and directing three films only : ¨Orazi e Curiazi¨ , "Beautiful Like Us" and this ¨Apache woman¨ . This is 'a must see' for action-starved Indian Western buffs with strong graphic violence who will enjoy the action and hard themes , though being very mediocre .

Al Cliver won't go down in history as the greatest actor ever, or even the most adequate actor ever. He's just kind of there, staring at things. Apache Woman requires Cliver to just sort of stare at things anyway, and therefore it might be the best film he's appeared in as the leading man.

Al is part of a Yankee squad out to capture some Apache tribesmen who have escaped from a local reservation, and by capture I mean slaughter, including the women and children. These brave fellows manage to hold their own up against these unarmed mothers and kids, but when the actual Apaches braves show up they hightail it, leaving one dead Sargeant behind and one unconscious Al Cliver, who never ever fired a shot.

Some time later, Al wakes up to find to everyone dead except for one lady Apache and one passing salesman who is stealing the boots and jewellery from the corpses who figures that he can sell on the squaw as a sex slave. This lady is no pushover though so when two other dodgy cowboys turn up and try and put the moves on her, she headbutts one of the them and hightails it with Al.

You see, this is a messed up love story in a nihilistic mid-seventies way as Al and the Apache woman grow closer despite cultural and linguistic differences (requiring Al to do a lot of staring). A love story where the protagonists realise that their forbidden love will cause them to turn their backs on their respective societies so they can stare at each other over a campfire. A love story where every single white person cannot even see a human when they look on the Apache, including so called men of God. This paragraph was supposed to end on a joke but that doesn't seem so funny after all.

If you're in a foul mood and want to hate the human race a little more, this film will do the trick nicely. It's another twilight Spaghetti Western with a dark, dark heart.

After several Apache families escape from their reservation a cavalry squadron is sent out to take them back. Unfortunately, because of the intense hatred that they harbor toward them the soldiers decide to kill them instead. Yet after killing almost every man, woman and child they encounter an ambush by several warriors who had formed a hunting party prior to their attack. Meanwhile, back in the village one female Apache named "Sunsirahe" (Clara Hopf) and a slightly wounded cavalry soldier by the name of "Tommy" (Al Cliver) are left behind and together they form an uneasy alliance in an effort to somehow get back to Fort Cobb alive. What they don't count on is the hostility from both white settlers and those same Apache warriors seeking to avenge the murder of their families. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a low-budget spaghetti western which suffered from a crude plot and a rudimentary script. In addition to that, I also didn't care for the rather annoying background music either. Having said that, I must admit that Clara Hopf was quite attractive but even so her presence wasn't nearly enough for me to rate this picture any higher than I have. Below average.

Despiste we talked about a western spaguetti on a easy reading a low budge this italian production is clearly well done leaving a message against prejudice over two different kinds of ethnicities, considering a long time ago that human races is no longer exist anymore according biological sciences, starting that point the whole thing make sense if a white man desires an Apache woman in such special contexts applied in the script, the picture turn up an delightful avocation entirely moreover what is gone takes on final, amazing me it deeply!!

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First watch: 2011 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD-R / Rating: 7