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Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

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7.3/10 • 31

2024-09-112h 30m

DocumentaryHistory

Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War. In 1960, the UN became the stage for a political earthquake as the struggle for independence in the Congo put the world on high alert. The newly independent nation faced its first coup d'état, orchestrated by Western forces and Belgium, which were reluctant to relinquish control over their resource-rich former colony. The US tried to divert attention by sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the African continent. In 1961, Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba was brutally assassinated, silencing a key voice in the fight against colonialism; his death was facilitated by Belgian and CIA operatives. Musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach took action, denouncing imperialism and structural racism. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev intensified his criticism of the US, highlighting the racial barriers that characterized American society.

Directors
Johan Grimonprez
Writters
Johan Grimonprez
Editors
Rik Chaubet

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Patrice Lumumba

    Patrice Lumumba

    Self (archive footage)

  2. Louis Armstrong

    Louis Armstrong

    Self (archive footage)

  3. Nikita Khrushchev

    Nikita Khrushchev

    Self (archive footage)

  4. Dizzy Gillespie

    Dizzy Gillespie

    Self (archive footage)

  5. Andrée Blouin

    Andrée Blouin

    Self (archive footage)

  6. Abbey Lincoln

    Abbey Lincoln

    Self (archive footage)

  7. Max Roach

    Max Roach

    Self (archive footage)

  8. Malcolm X

    Malcolm X

    Self (archive footage)

  9. Nina Simone

    Nina Simone

    Self (archive footage)

Reviews2

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Nov 23, 2024

7/10

This documentary is a serious testament to the archivist's art as it pieces together an impressive array of imagery of the great and the good of American Jazz and combines that with some intimate actuality of the turbulence ongoing in the Congo as it strived for independence. Why might anyone care about the future of an impoverished African nation that had all but bankrupted it's "owner" - King Leopold II of Belgium? Well that's because it holds enormous deposits of the uranium required by both the West and the Soviets - and that's just the start of it's reputedly $23 trillion worth of mineral assets. Emerging from the populace to lead this new country is Patrice Lumumba. He's an articulate man who unlike so many who took their nations out of colonial-hood, is not constantly bedecked in medals and ribbons with armed men at his back. What we see over the next couple of hours uses a superb musical soundtrack from the likes of Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis - you name it, to provide a backdrop to CIA shenanigans, petulant strops from Nikita Khruschev, accusatory comments from just about everyone from Malcolm X to Fidel Castro and some extremely cynical insights into the Eisenhower presidency's approach to this man; to the problems he may bring or solve and to the precedents he was bound to set. As you'll expect, this freedom fight is tied-in closely with the fight for desegregation and equal/human rights for African American people and it uses that platform to illustrate just how ineffective the US-dominated United Nations was at brokering anything akin to a peaceable solution that was in anyway neutral or beneficial to the populace of this vast territory. The secession of Katanga - where the mining was at it's more lucrative and the privatisation of it's principal enterprise ensured that the West still pulled the strings, sets the tone for the final phase of the history and it's tragic conclusion. I knew some of this but I wasn't aware of just how exploitatively the American administration used unwitting people, many globally recognised household hames and who were still treated as second-class citizens (if citizens at all) at home, to peddle a political message of brotherhood and unity in Africa and at just how effective these deceptions were whilst the CIA experimented with new ways of assassinating. There's an arrogance here that's writ large as the local population are treated with a casual disdain that makes your flesh crawl. Fans of jazz will love the accompaniment which mixes some characterful performances of the more famous pieces of music from the genre with some more specifically written and delivered themes that directly address the issues of slavery, exploitation and freedom that led to a protest within the impotent General Assembly chamber itself. It is curious that many of the criticisms levelled at the UN in the mid 1960s are just as valid today, and that little progress as been made changing the format that was established by world powers in the 1940s whose "permanent" roles embedded in the political infrastructure remain unaffected sixty years later. This isn't a film about corporate greed, it's one about political influence and domination and has been thoughtfully put together to open a hornet's nest. Did you know that Dizzy Gillespie actually ran for US President?

Media

  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat poster
  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat poster
  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat poster
  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat poster
  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat poster
  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
French
Budget
--
Revenue
$311,457.00
Keywords
central intelligence agency (cia)war crimescold warcongocoup d'etatbelgiumfidel castrogenocideunited nationsamerican embassyu.s. embassy1960sex-cia agentkatanga conflictmalcom xdemocratic republic of the congoeisenhowerbelgian air forcecia agentu.n. secretary generalcongo warpatrice lumumbacia officermax roachcia crimescia war crimesusa war crimesbelgian war crimesnato war crimesoperation gladionikita khrushchevabbey lincolncia operativescia brutal assassinationcia brutal murdersbelgian brutal murdersgeneral mobutumobutu war crimesmobutu's banditsbrutally tortured their prisonersjournalists bought executionsnato operationnato involvementeisenhower war crimesmoïse tshombemoïse tshombe war crimeskatanga mineamerican ambassadoramerican ambassador involvedamerican embassy involvedbelgian colonizersamerican and belgian colonizersamerican colonizersussr presents resolution to end colonialismresolution to end colonialismdeath to colonial slaveryu.n. general assemblydeclaration against colonialismgeneral assembly resolution 1514dag hammarskjöld murderu.n. resolution 929maurice mpolojoseph okitobelgian militaryforeign militaryandree blouinin koli jean bofaneallen dullesallen dulles cia directorcia a crime syndicatesouth african mercenary