November 21, 2024
FILM: SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT
DIRECTED BY: JOHAN GRIMONPREZ
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Music, politics, and international relations. In the late 1950s and early 60s the Congo in Africa became a center for the convergence of all three. The Sundance-winning documentary, Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat explores a very complex political situation when the newly independent Republic of the Congo became a target of the United Nations (U.N.) Many of its members were aware that these independent states would shift the balance away from old colonial powers. In other words, this new “United States of Africa” would have more votes in the U.N. Would this make their connection to the Soviet Union and Nikita Khrushchev stronger? The Congo was known for its land rich in uranium – used during World War II for the creation of the atom bomb. The question at hand was whether the old guard in the Congo should remain or the new leadership, run by its new prime minister Patrice Lumumba, be recognized. Should he be ousted from power or even assassinated?
I think you begin to see where this becomes a major international situation. I will admit that there is a LOT of detail here that while historically significant is also a bit difficult to unpack, especially for those of who are sadly uneducated about African history. On top of all of this, there is the jazz. Many of the important jazz artists from the time, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone were being sent to the Congo to spread love and music among the war-torn country. Was this a kind of Trojan horse used to spy on the Congo? Looking back at it now it all seems absurd and similar to a convoluted Hollywood movie plot. However, it all happened.
Filmmaker Johan Grimonprez weaves together some pretty incredible and rarely seen footage of many events associated with this period of strife. From archival interviews with world political leaders, speeches from then President Dwight Eisenhower, Soviet leader Khrushchev, news reports, and of course, many musicians, he creates a kaleidoscope of a very specific and dangerous situation happening during the Cold War. There is no narration to provide a broader context of the events and what it all meant at the time. Rather Grimonprez lets audio recordings, film footage, and documented quotes explain each significant step as the crisis grew.
Some of the clips are somewhat amusing, like watching Khrushchev pound on his desk in the General Assembly and then visiting Hollywood. (Yes, he apparently toured the U.S.) Of course, there is also the music, which is pretty exquisite, from all of these key jazz artists. This functions as a soundtrack offering a strange ironic blend of sheer artistic beauty with the drama of a country under fire. The juxtaposition of images featuring killings and clashes with those of impeccable musicianship is quite startling to experience.
The final scenes in the U.N. involving African protestors against General Assembly members will be eerily familiar to those of us today that watched the events of January 6th 2021 unfold. The story presented here is dense and complicated but the film, if you are patient with it, is very informative and preserves something that could have been lost to many of us about the U.N. and African history.
Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat is currently playing in limited theatrical release. It opens this week at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.
FILM: SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT
DIRECTED BY: JOHAN GRIMONPREZ
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Music, politics, and international relations. In the late 1950s and early 60s the Congo in Africa became a center for the convergence of all three. The Sundance-winning documentary, Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat explores a very complex political situation when the newly independent Republic of the Congo became a target of the United Nations (U.N.) Many of its members were aware that these independent states would shift the balance away from old colonial powers. In other words, this new “United States of Africa” would have more votes in the U.N. Would this make their connection to the Soviet Union and Nikita Khrushchev stronger? The Congo was known for its land rich in uranium – used during World War II for the creation of the atom bomb. The question at hand was whether the old guard in the Congo should remain or the new leadership, run by its new prime minister Patrice Lumumba, be recognized. Should he be ousted from power or even assassinated?
I think you begin to see where this becomes a major international situation. I will admit that there is a LOT of detail here that while historically significant is also a bit difficult to unpack, especially for those of who are sadly uneducated about African history. On top of all of this, there is the jazz. Many of the important jazz artists from the time, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone were being sent to the Congo to spread love and music among the war-torn country. Was this a kind of Trojan horse used to spy on the Congo? Looking back at it now it all seems absurd and similar to a convoluted Hollywood movie plot. However, it all happened.
Filmmaker Johan Grimonprez weaves together some pretty incredible and rarely seen footage of many events associated with this period of strife. From archival interviews with world political leaders, speeches from then President Dwight Eisenhower, Soviet leader Khrushchev, news reports, and of course, many musicians, he creates a kaleidoscope of a very specific and dangerous situation happening during the Cold War. There is no narration to provide a broader context of the events and what it all meant at the time. Rather Grimonprez lets audio recordings, film footage, and documented quotes explain each significant step as the crisis grew.
Some of the clips are somewhat amusing, like watching Khrushchev pound on his desk in the General Assembly and then visiting Hollywood. (Yes, he apparently toured the U.S.) Of course, there is also the music, which is pretty exquisite, from all of these key jazz artists. This functions as a soundtrack offering a strange ironic blend of sheer artistic beauty with the drama of a country under fire. The juxtaposition of images featuring killings and clashes with those of impeccable musicianship is quite startling to experience.
The final scenes in the U.N. involving African protestors against General Assembly members will be eerily familiar to those of us today that watched the events of January 6th 2021 unfold. The story presented here is dense and complicated but the film, if you are patient with it, is very informative and preserves something that could have been lost to many of us about the U.N. and African history.
Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat is currently playing in limited theatrical release. It opens this week at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.