Lumumba

(Movie Review)

As a history geek, I'm a big fan of the biopic, but let's face,it's not an easy genre to pull off. The complexity's of a person's life do not lend themselves to being neatly condensed into a 2 hour movie.

This is true of biopics about musicians and movie stars, but it is especially true of someone like Lumumba, whose life story is hard to separate from the story of the Congo's struggle for independence. Try fitting all of that in two hours!

I'm told the directors cut of this movie is over 3 hours long, and I'd be interested in seeing that someday. (If we can sit through 3 hours of "Lord of the Rings", I'm sure we can handle 3 hours of a fascinating true story like this). However my video store had the standard 115 minute version, so that's the version I'm reviewing.

While I would have liked to see something a bit longer, I guess ultimately if you want to get into the details, that's what books are for. This movie was just meant to be a brief summary of the main events of Lumumba's life and the Independence of Congo, and as such I think they did a great job.

Like most Americans, I know little about the history of the Congo. Because I read a lot of Noam Chomsky back in college, and because of the Media Mouse crowd I hung out with, I already knew that the CIA was involved in the kidnapping and assassination of Patrice Lumumba, but that was about all I knew.

By the way, this is another little event which somehow never really makes it into the American history textbooks. Strange, isn't it? With all these omissions in our history, it's no wonder so many Americans still think our government is a force for freedom and democracy in the world.

Roger Ebert, in his review of the movie, shares the following thoughts: Why does the United States so often back the reactionary side in international disputes? Why do we fight against liberation movements, and in favor of puppets who make things comfy for multinational corporations? Having built a great democracy, why are we fearful of democracy elsewhere? Such thoughts occurred as I watched "Lumumba," the story of how the United States conspired to bring about the death of the Congo's democratically elected Patrice Lumumba--and to sponsor in his place Joseph Mobotu, a dictator, murderer and thief who continued for nearly four decades to enjoy American sponsorship.

Pondering the histories of the Congo and other troubled lands of recent decades, we're tempted to wonder if the world might not better reflect our ideals if we had not intervened in those countries. American foreign policy has consistently reflected not American ideals but American investment interests...

Anyway, because of my lack of knowledge about the history of the Congo, I found some parts of this movie a little confusing. But to repeat myself, the purpose of a biopic isn't to give you a thorough grounding of history. That's what books are for. A biopic, if its done right, just gives you a little taste to wet your interest and encourage you to read more.

And judged on that criteria, I'd say this is one of the best biopics I've ever seen, right up there with "Gandhi" and "Malcolm X". It's a very powerful movie, the cinematography is great, and (although I wish it had been longer) I'd say it did a great job of summarizing the Independence of Congo, the life of Patrice Lumumba, and the role of the CIA in his assassination.

The actor who portrays Lumumba does a great job of giving dramatic speeches (and looks amazingly like the actual Lumumba as well). Unfortunately the movie never really has time to get into his childhood or personal life. Lumumba is already 30 years old when the movie begins. But I think the events surrounding the last days of his life is captured very well.

If you like a good biopic, or if you are a fellow history nerd, but this one at the top of your rental list.

Link of the Day
Remember those photos of Iraqi women triumphantly raising freshly inked fingers for Western cameras after voting in their new “democracy”? They were presented to the world by the U.S. government as an indication of a policy that would liberate Iraqi women and men. Well, it didn’t quite work out that way, according to Iraqi women’s rights activist Yanar Mohammed, who argues that the situation for women in her country has significantly worsened since the American invasion in 2003. (Complete article here)

Lumumba: Movie Review (Scripted)