Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

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Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

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2h 30m

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33 Reviews

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United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this magnificent essay film, a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo's leader Patrice Lumumba. Richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story of precedent that resonates more than ever in today's geopolitical climate.

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Critics Consensus

Director Johan Grimonprez's sprawling documentary moves to a furious beat, laying out its thesis with an energy that's as enthralling as it is thought-provoking.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

This is a film which has a little of Oliver Stone in the way it inhales something eerie and sinister in the atmosphere, and it’s something to set alongside Leon Gast’s 1996 documentary When We Were Kings.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 13, 2024

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Alissa Wilkinson

New York Times

Provoking a bit of confusion is the point. Covert power relies on misdirection, and it is only by looking back that we can sometimes make sense of what happened. That’s why “Soundtrack” lands on a coda.

Nov 5, 2024

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Zachary Barnes

Wall Street Journal

The film, with its dazzling musical energy, its complex narrative sweep and its dizzying cast of characters, finally emerges as a tragedy: a story of promises broken and trust betrayed.

Nov 2, 2024

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Sebastian Scotney

The Arts Desk

There are resonant stories and great music to be heard in Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, but its 150-minute running time is too demanding for anyone who isn't already a student of decolonialism in Africa.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 17, 2024

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Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

One of the most exhilarating and inventive nonfiction pictures of the year

Nov 15, 2024

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Joshua Peinado

In Review Online

[The film] does have the occasional tonal misstep, and the inconsistent and sporadic placements of modern commercials feels particularly gauche, but it’s all easily forgivable when considering the enormity of the task at hand.

Nov 15, 2024

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Johan Grimonprez

Director

Zap Mama

Narrator

In Koli Jean Bofane

Narrator

Patrick Cruise O'Brien

Narrator

Louis Armstrong

Self

Andrée Blouin

Self

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Soundtrack to a Coup d'État: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this magnificent essay film, a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo's leader Patrice Lumumba. Richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story of precedent that resonates more than ever in today's geopolitical climate.

Director: Johan Grimonprez
Producer: Daan Milius, Rémi Grellety
Screenwriter: Johan Grimonprez
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Warboys Films
Genre: Documentary, History, Music
Original Language: French
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 1, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 7, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.4K
Runtime: 2h 30m