Lumumba (2000)

When it comes to political movies I usually come out feeling empty. They generally take up some moralistic stance and you have a clear good vs bad story line as if it is some sort of Batman movie.But with Lumumba it is the first movie I've seen that showed politics for what it is, and the real issues of trying to rule a country of broken people who have known no other rule but violence. There were no good or bad there were just interests and conflicts of interest. This is the only political movie in my opinion that one can come out of it truly learning something. Especially for anyone with their eye on politics as a career this movie shows you, you cannot rule on what you want for a country, but what the country wants from you.That's why I disagree with a lot of reviews that say everyone comes of bad, I think they come of too idealistic, (the Belgians want the perfect colony, Lumumba wants a perfect Unity Congo, Tshombe wants wealth and riches, America wants the perfect ally against communism, Russia wants the perfect aide for Communism). And the Congolese? They come off used and abused, ( best example in the movie when Général Janssens tells his black troops your government lied to you and it leaves them all in an uproar) they are always being pulled and pushed into supporting this person or another.This movie shows in politics a mistake can cost you dearly and this movie everyone makes mistake after mistake until it escalates and ends up destroying the country. Their intentions might be good (or at least in the characters opinion), but it's everyone's mistakes that lead to the downfall of Congo. I don't think anyone is bad in this film, I just think they want too much from people sick of giving and want to start taking.Overall, it's not just the best political film, it is a great film in general. Acting is fabulous (Eriq Ebouaney as Lumumba was perfect casting I really believe him) script flawless, editing perfect pace, and production value higher than I expected for a central African film. A must watch.

I have just seen Lumumba and I think it was disgusting.The basic storyline is the formation of the first democratically elected government of Congo, but this attempt is sabotaged by external (mainly Belgian) and internal Congo forces.Lumumba is being remembered as a hero, but Mr.Peck seems to be able to rewrite history and make it seem like his execution was Lumumba Patrice his own damn fault.As a viewer you have absolutely no clue why people hate him in the end, why the people around him leave him and he is left alone. You are lead to believe that this was because of his nationalistic lectures he held in government and you can almost(!) understand why his opponents wanted to kill him.Mobutu is pictured as somebody that (with Belgian help) was just trying to restore order at high costs. No, I don't know what mr.Peck was trying to tell with this movie, but I can't imagine this was his goal. I guess he was trying to tell his opinion, but this movie tells the story so badly that I have my doubts if he in fact wasn't trying to tell something else....

Spoilers herein.Approaching any work, the viewer comes with certain presumptions about the compact with the artist. In the case of biographical films, that compact bears special attention.Why would someone make a film like this? Because the person in question is so compelling a being that simple exposure to that life uplifts us? Because there is a political story of injustice we (someone thinks) need to be told? Because the situation supports a drama with universal truths? Because it is a handy framework for a filmmaker to make a film?If you guess wrong you'll be disappointed, because each of these goals results in a radically different film. I believe Peck's case is a matter of the fourth choice.It is not an overly romanticized portrait of a noble man like Stone's depiction of Malcolm. It glosses over the complexities of the situation too glibly to remotely inform of the various evils and incompetences visited on that patch.No, I think it masquerades as a polemic built around a saintly figure, but really is just a handy excuse on which to build a competent film. Peck is a man already known for documentaries friendly to class struggle. But this and the others I know are substantially less articulate than Lumumba himself.This film is only two years old now, and I got more power out of knowing that as many as a third of the cast in the crowd scenes are dying of AIDS, perhaps already dead.Ted's evaluation: 2 of 4 -- Has some interesting elements.

Good Movie, acting was terrific especially from Eriq Ebouaney(Lumumba)and very well directed.It also shows how Lumumba was cornered by the Belgians, U S A and United Nations and how they labelled him a `communist' to scare people as they did to all the Honest True African leaders like Nkrumah, Kenyatta, Nyerere and many others. It shows how western countries preach democracy while they have something else on the back of their minds. It is a story of injustice, struggle and brutality.It shows how Lumumba couldn't control his people, yes they were his people, but before we put the blame on him, was he getting enough if any from the people he appointed in his government like Mobutu? Or his colleague had other things in their minds, to find out go and see the movie! Certainly Mobutu did, went on to loot the country for the next 35 yrs, before he was overthrown and fled the country. Died a billionaire.Some flaws: There was too little explanation how the man (Lumumba) got to rise in the first place. Also there should have been more explanation about the country, Congo Kinshasa (after independence), now known as Democratic Republic of Congo formerly known as Zaire when it was under Mobutu. There should have been an explanation why he (Lumumba) couldn't keep the second largest country in Africa in one piece. And also what was going on with Tshombe and Katanga . Just heads up if you gonna watch the movie Tshombe was controlling the Katanga region which (if I am not mistaken) is the number one copper producer in the world.In all it is a good movie to see. You will learn something new about Africa, it's leaders and it's people and probably will open your eyes why this continent is ridden with wars.