Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

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Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

Released Nov 1, 2024

2h 30m

Documentary

History

Music

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Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

97%

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250+ Ratings

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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Philip Concannon

Little White Lies

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is a dense and meticulously constructed picture.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 21, 2025

Full Review

Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat relates not just Lumumba’s assassination but the larger role the Congo, a nation rich with natural resources, played in the Cold War, and the so-called Congo Crisis’ surprising intersections with midcentury American jazz.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 7, 2025

Full Review

Philip De Semlyen

Time Out

It’s the quietly magisterial Fiennes who steals the show. Don’t be surprised to see white smoke billowing out of the Academy Awards come March.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 22, 2024

Full Review

Calum Baker

Radio Times

With its complex mapping of information, this is a far less passive viewing experience than most popular historical documentaries, but that's by design: the issues are difficult and Grimonprez, admirably, refuses to reduce them to pat summaries.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 4, 2025

Full Review

Carla Hay

Culture Mix

With artful editing, this mostly archival documentary tells how the independence of Congo, competition for resources, and political exploitation of American jazz stars intertwined and resulted in the 1961 assassination of Congo leader Patrice Lumumba.

Mar 2, 2025

Full Review

Elsa Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

Soundtrack for a Coup d'Etat is an intricate and gripping collage of images, jazz and historical quotes around the fruitless dream of an African continent free from foreign greed and plunder. [Full review in Spanish]

Feb 28, 2025

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Cagle

Grim subject but excellently presented. Outstanding music which creatively accompanied the unfolding of complex concomitant events, "players", geographical/govermental/political/financial circumstances coherently

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/25

Full Review

kathryne c

This was an excellent documentary!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/02/25

Full Review

Paula T

Strong combination of jazz and politics, much interesting documentary footage.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/15/24

Full Review

Sinta L

Ini film yang bagus. Dan sangat recommended buat ditonton

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/03/25

Full Review

imam s

Ketika music jass di jadikan alat politik untuk menggulingkan pemimpin Afrika .sangat sangat bagus untuk di tonton sejarah yang sebenarnya terjadi

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/03/25

Full Review

reza a

good and very enjoyable

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/25

Full Review

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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): $335.7K
Runtime: 2h 30m

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