In the late 1950s, the world was in turmoil. One after another, people around the world were throwing off their oppressive western colonizers and becoming members of the United Nations.
At the same time, the West was in full blown “cold war” mode with Russia, and rabid communist haters like the Dulles brothers were trying to crush independence movements wherever there was a hint that the freedom fighters might have communist sympathies. One of the more questionable tactics used was to send black jazz musicians to tour Africa and Asia, camouflaging America’s own racist tendencies while trying to appeal to the black masses of Africa. America was to appear as their friend instead of their betrayer.
The documentary “Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat” takes a look at this period broadly, including the rise of non-aligned nations, but with a focus on the struggle in the Congo. The Belgian Congo was a huge expanse at the center of “black” Africa. It had been created as a personal colony of the Belgian ruling family by King Leopold II. By the 1950s, it was still Belgian, but now under the control of the government. In the late 1950s, many colonies were pushing for independence, and in June 1960, the Congo declared itself an independent nation. Patrice Lumumba was elected Prime Minister. This story is about his rise, the concerted and highly hypocritical effort of western nations to limit his control, and his eventual arrest and assassination.
Using historic public film and recorded interviews of politicians, jazz performers, espionage personnel, and mercenaries, the producers have woven a fascinating and highly disturbing expose that still resonates, sixty plus years later. The faces and places may have changed, but the rules of the ‘game’ remain the same.
Belgian director/writer Johan Grimonprez (“Blue Orchids”) has set himself a formidable task: while telling the story of the Congo through period materials, he has also interwoven snippets of performers who were recruited by the US State Department (John Foster Dulles) and CIA (Alan Dulles) as an artistic propaganda tool obscuring the clandestine destabilization of the newly emerging African nations. At least some of the performers, like Louie Armstrong, caught on to how they were being used and resisted.
While this is a fascinating tale of western duplicity, told by the participants themselves, the overall result, with the frequent switches in time and the often intrusive musical interludes becomes confusing and even irritating. Add to this the length of the documentary and I question the appeal it will have, other than to people who have lived through these events. And that is an old and shrinking population.
Still, the cutting together of all this material by Rik Chaubet (“Hypnos”) is an impressive feat. Even he though, has introduced elements that make no sense or are sufficiently off target to be irrelevant.
The upshot is that “Soundtrack” is an interesting period piece of limited appeal. For those interested in the music, the snatches played are insufficient. For those interested in the history, the presentation is drawn out and confusing.
Is there hope for the piece? Yes. Directorial redesign and tighter editing would make it a more interesting – and successful – documentary.
Runtime: Two hours, 30 minutes
Availability: Opening in New York in October, LA and Chicago in November.
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