A One Mann’s Movies review of “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (2024).
We are in Oscar documentary territory again and this is one for the history buffs. And this is not just a documentary… this is a jazz documentary!
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” Summary:
We focus on the Congo and 1960 for a period of global confrontation over the future of the incredibly rich African country and its place in a formative “United States of Africa”.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: NR. (From the BBFC web site: “Violence, discrimination, sexual violence references, strong language”. (I actually strongly disagree with this rating and think this should be a “15”/”R”. As well as featuring really distressing testimony (including parents being forced to have sex with their own children) the violence includes a white mercenary executing a black man lying on the ground with a gun at point blank range. I’ve felt compelled to write to the BBFC with these comments.)
Talent:
Directed by: Johan Grimonprez.
Written by: Johan Grimonprez & Daan Milius.
Running Time: 2h 30m.
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” Summary:
Positives:
- Incredible archivist work in compiling and editing together material from hundreds of sources.
- Great use of jazz music backing from all of the greats.
- Innovative graphics.
- Provides a great grounding in the history of the early cold-war conflict.
Negatives:
- The information is delivered at such a frenetic pace, it’s hard to keep track of the story at times.
Review of “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”:
So much historical footage.
This is a phenomenal job by Johan Grimonprez in identifying and compiling video from a huge range of different sources. As well as the historical political footage, the film is interspersed with a collection of really random shots: for example, an elephant being loaded onto a ship; a train crash; a child dressed as an alien walking down the street. It’s delightfully random.
So much Jazz.
Living up to the film’s title, there is a powerful soundtrack to the history, delivered by some of the US jazz greats (including Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis) as well as lesser-known jazz artists, both US and African. Many of these tracks are accompanied by snippets of the artists performing. It’s a real treat for aficionados of jazz.
Graphics.
The graphics are really novel too. Stylised block graphics spell out the quotes of what is being said on screen together with the reference points.
Fills a big gap in my history knowledge.
I was aware that the Democratic Republic of the Congo used to be “the Belgian Congo”; I recognised King Baudouin of Belgium from my old childhood stamp collection; I knew that there was a lot of terrible, mercenary-fuelled violence in the region. But that was about as far as my knowledge went. If I ever knew about President Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, I’d forgotten them. The film leads us through all of the political machinations between East (Khruschev) and West (Eisenhower) in the United Nations and the lies, deception and murderous skulduggery that went in the Congo as a result. All for the prize of the huge amounts of natural resources, including Uranium, that the country holds beneath its surface.
I’d also not heard of the attempt to create a United States of Africa becore: really interesting.
Some of the blatant lies (Eisenhower swearing to the UN that he will not countenance interference in an African country while simultaneously ordering a political assassination) make you appreciate that little has changed in US politics over the last 60 years.
Brutality
Some of this footage is hard to watch. There is testimony of rape and atrocities carried out by white mercenaries (not the cosy, friendly men from “The Wild Geese”). In one brutal section, a voiceover describes how he callously murders women and children in the villages as if they were animals. And in another witness testimonial, a man describes how villagers were forced to form a circle, identify their children in the circle and then be forced to have sex with them while everyone watched. (You see what I mean about the lax BBFC certificate?)
Frenetic
My one criticism of what is a really cleverly put together film is that the frenetic pace can be very confusing, especially in the beginning of the film where we are thrown images from later on without context or explanation. (You need to stick with this pre-title segment… the style does settle down.) The film also at times chooses to place things out of sequence. At one point the caption boldly says “December 1960” but then a few clips later the small caption on the politician talking at the UN says “September 1960”. I’m not sure why this was deemed necessary.
Summary Thoughts on “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
At two and a half hours, this was long for a documentary (and for that reason, I think it is unlikely to win the Oscar tonight). But I found it to be a scholarly and entertaining slice of jazz-infused history that is worth your attention if you are into a) history and/or b) jazz.
It is currently available to rent on the Youtube platform here. Or check out the Justwatch widget below for other streaming options in your geography.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RwLdIiZk_8.
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