King Ampaw
- 2007
A man dedicated to his career finds his job is interfering with his love life in this comedy from writer and director King Ampaw. Asante (David Dontoh) drives a hearse for a living, and while he's bright and attentive on the job, he doesn't understand why he can't seem to find a girlfriend. Asante meets Esi (Agartha Ofori), a lovely woman with a career as a dancer, when her mother dies and he's hired to help arrange the funeral. Asante is immediately smitten with Esi and goes out of his way to help make the memorial service special, even going so far as to dig into his own pocket to pay for a special coffin that resembles an airplane in tribute to the late woman's fondness for aviation. While Esi appreciates that Asante is willing to go the extra mile, she's a bit put off by the fact he deals with dead people on a regular basis, but while she tries to keep him at a polite distance, Asante isn't easily deterred in winning Esi's hand. Asante even beings stopping by Esi's house while in the neighborhood on business, though as it happens he's not actually picking up bodies, much to the annoyance of his boss. No Time To Die received its American premiere at the 2007 African Diaspora Film Festival in New York City. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Dontoh, Agartha Ofori, (more)
Director Werner Herzog, as usual, has spared no one -- especially himself -- in bringing this story of 19th-century African slave trading to the screen. Klaus Kinski plays an enterprising young Brazilian who after impregnating the three daughters of his plantation-owning employer, is sent to West Africa to round up slaves. Kinski goes to great lengths to befriend the very people he hopes to enslave and he eventually manages to overthrow a mad monarch and set himself up as king. As the years pass, Kinski grows wealthy -- and careless. However, despite enslaving the tribe, he does show some signs of humanitarian benevolence. This fifth and final collaboration between director Herzog and Kinski is considered the weakest of the five features. Though the title translates literally as Green Cobra, Cobra Verde was released in the U.S. as Slave Coast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, (more)
- 1983
In a routine melodrama that contrasts the hectic life in Accra, the capital of Ghana, with the relative peace of Kukurantumi, a rural town, a truck driver makes runs between the two locations with few problems until he is forced to replace his truck. In order to raise the money to get a new vehicle, he sells some stolen watches and promises his daughter in marriage to a rich merchant. Rebelling against this fate, the daughter runs off to Accra with her boyfriend -- but then nothing turns out quite like she had planned, and the rich merchant looks better with each passing day. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
