Cinema: Bad Faith

African Leader Maurice Lalubi (Woody Strode) is a world-famous apostle of nonviolence—what the Italian film makers choose to dub a Black Jesus. The fascist regime of his country hurriedly runs him to earth. Brought before the local Pontius Pilate (Jean Servais), Lalubi is cast into jail with a thief (Franco Citti), and tortured with nails driven into his hands. After a series of graphic humiliations, he is stabbed in the side by a soldier and dies. Organ music purls throughout to underline both the literal symbolism and the unadorned wretchedness of the performances. Two exceptions must be noted: Servais as the conscience-haunted functionary, and Strode himself. For years Strode, a former Los Angeles Ram, has hovered on the periphery of films waiting for a movie adequate to his talents. He is still marking time.

·S.K.