de facto film reviews 3.5 stars

Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat has a premise that mixes jazz with politics, in what at first appears to be a case study but is in fact more about 20th century colonialism than the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. Indeed, despite using the events surrounding his assassination to damn nearly the entire rest of the world, Lumumba himself remains something of a mystery. In a sense, it is only fair, as he was just beginning when he was killed. The everything surrounding those events is what is most vital for the film.

Courtesy Kino Lorber

This is not a film that uses an ongoing narrator, though it has narration. Instead, it uses readings, often by the original speakers, audio-clips, television and film interviews and news footage, as well as commercials, to tell THE story of how the western world could not concede that an African nation had a right to determine its own future and control its natural resources, and the culpability of the United Nations. Director Johan Grimonprez, is rightly angry at the lack of agency and manipulations involved in this story.

Gimonprez, a Belgian, points his finger first at his own nation, and its long history of exploiting the resources of African nations. He looks to the Dulles brothers, particularly Allen Dulles, former director the CIA. At times, he seems to follow things some might view as conspiracy theory, but the evidence is clear, in the actors own words-here, the term actor is a person involved in a historical event-that this all happened. Yet, one cannot shake the feeling that we are not getting the entire story.

Courtesy Kino Lorber

Editing and the narratives it creates and controls, is an important aspect of film making, and one Gimonprez uses to great effect. Because, in the film, we are asked to empathize with Lumumba and view the western world as an enemy, we may take a moment to question why we are suddenly agreeing, at least in part, with figures like Fidel Castro and Nikita Kruschev. It is easy to see them making some sense, here, but just as easy to forget everything else. That may be the part of the film that is both most brilliant and most frustrating, as it forces audiences to understand that even those we have been taught to mistrust-rightly or wrongly-may have been right, at least on this issue.

The soundtrack portion is equally important here, because it goes to how black resources, be they people or otherwise, get used by others. Here, the use is as political pawns and shields or distractions in maneuvers to force regime change and bend sovereign nations to their will. The near-constant music creates a symphony of pain, wonder, joy, triumph and loss that stretches across time and place. This is a film that asks you to look at facts and to find empathy for those who may, outwardly, not be so much like yourself, but who in reality are caught in systems you may not even be aware you are a part of.

Courtesy Kino Lorber

Whether or not you buy into this and how much, will slide you into the column of supporting and applauding the film or damming and ignoring it. Make no mistake, this is both history and polemic. It is decidedly angry, pointed and it wants you to know how it feels and how others have been used and abused. This is going to be polarizing, but even if you are not in agreement with it, there is a certain power to the general narrative, about abuses of power, which should appeal to a slightly broader audience. Ultimately, this is about the collision of art and politics and how power will use and try to corrupt whatever it touches. It makes it case with precision, detail and passion. You may find yourself wanting to know more about the people, and that is something the film repeatedly glosses over, expecting the music itself to carry much of the load. It is hard not to get swept up in the emotions of the work, yet after you finish watching it, you may ask yourself what you have learned and if you understand the case itself all that much. You need not be an arch-cold warrior to be angry over the accusations here, nor a devout marxist to find yourself nodding throughout much of it, such is the power of the film making.

Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat opens at the Detroit Film Theatre on 1/17 and is now available for rental or purchase.