Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

2h 30m

Documentary

History

List

100%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

Popcornmeter

0 Verified 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.

Johan Grimonprez

Director

Zap Mama

Narrator

In Koli Jean Bofane

Narrator

Patrick Cruise O'Brien

Narrator

Johan Grimonprez

Screenwriter

Daan Milius

Producer

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Tomris Laffly

Harper's Bazaar

What Grimonprez creates here is a mind-blowingly rich tapestry of research, music, and the jazziest history lesson imaginable, with freewheeling beats and riffs echoing into today with urgent purpose.

Feb 5, 2024

Full Review

David Opie

indieWire

Cutting between home movies, official texts, historical footage, and Patrice Lumumba’s speeches, “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” uses an endless rhythm of rumba and jazz to unravel colonial machinations of power in the Congo circa 1960.

Rated: B+

Jan 27, 2024

Full Review

Greg Nussen

Slant Magazine

The film is a stunning screed against colonial racism and state-sanctioned violence.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 24, 2024

Full Review

Philip Bagnall

Loud and Clear Reviews

s democracy undergoes repeated pressure tests of late, Soundtrack To A Coup d’État serves as a vital reminder of how mass manipulation is more commonplace and more insidious than we realize.

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 8, 2024

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

It’s a tangled tale of Cold War politics and espionage that does not reflect well on the US, or the director’s native Belgium.

Apr 27, 2024

Full Review

Alan French

Sunshine State Cineplex

Soundtrack to a Coup d’État is here to bring a cultural reckoning. Through this story, we can understand the more devious ways America has exerted its strength worldwide.

Rated: 9/10

Apr 11, 2024

Full Review

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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
Original Language: French
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 1, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 2h 30m