Lumumba Movie Analysis

Lumumba, is director Raoul Peck’s fast paced biographical thriller about the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first prime minster, the film’s namesake Patrice Lumumba. The film is accurate in its portrayal of the time but suffers from its lack of true exposition — those unfamiliar with Congolese history may have a hard time following the narrative. Peck does not over glorify Lumumba and paints a fairly human portrait of the man sometimes revered as the martyred saint of Congolese independence. The film does not tell a clichéd story, but rather a nuanced one; it does not grovel for the viewer 's sympathy, but rather commands respect. Peck’s stylistic choices in the construction of the narrative structure of the film have a profound impact on the viewer 's experience with the characters. From the opening credits the movie sets a serious tone, with real images of Belgian colonial rule of the Congo and the subjugation of the …show more content…
At 43 minutes a detachment of congolese troops barge into a meeting of the countries rulers, including Lumumba, and demand an end not just to white officers but the officer class as a whole. These troops and their cohorts seized military installations and settlements and took hostages as part of their rebellion. The force Publique also began enacting violence on white residents of the Congo and demanding bribes from civilians(52:05). Lumumba and Kasavubu are denied permission to land at the Elizebethville airport, being told that Lumumba, “can’t set foot on Katanga soil”(57:15-59). These ethnic tensions, compounded with the tensions within the Force Publique result in an extremely fragile state with a very weak hold on power. This fragility is exploited by Mobutu and his Western allies to topple Lumumba’s