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Lumumba Movie Analysis

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Lumumba Movie Analysis

Background

Lumumba is a biographical film produced in 2000 and directed by Rauoul Peck. The film

premiered in Los Angeles, Washington, and New York in July 2001 after it was showcased in

Montreal and Paris. The film has been released in limited distribution internationally and attracts

great attention to Africans. Rauoul Peck, an acclaimed Haitian documentary filmmaker

chronicles the rise, rule, detention, and ultimate assassination of Patrice Lumumba in the film.

The director uses newly discovered historical evidence to illuminate the role of international

media in African politics, specifically in independent Congo (Monaville, 2019). Rauoul Peck is a

Haitian-born filmmaker who was later raised in Congo and demonstrates comprehensive mastery

of the Congolese political, social, cultural, and economic environments.

Summary

In the movie Lumumba, the true story of Lumumba, the main character, is exploited using

literal devices on how he rose to power, his political career and ultimate assassination. Lumumba

is depicted as a formerly vilified leader who is later redeemed to become the political leader of

independent Congo. Lumumba emerges as a sacrificial lamb in a heroic manner as dubiously

portrayed by the international media (dmcgrathdls, 2018). At the beginning of the movie,

Lumumba is depicted in montage alongside his compatriots Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito,

where they are driven into their executions, their bodies being cut, and later exhumed,

dismembered, and later burned as ordered by Mobutu Sese Seko.

Analysis

The film dates back to 1960, with Lumumba pictured in yellow eyes, full of exhaustion

and resignation as he approaches his fate. The film then jumps back to the beginning of
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Lumumba’s political career, the extensive changes he helped in enacting, and the numerous

insurrections that led to the forcing of King Leopold II into changing his perspective, which were

all beyond what Lumumba expected and feared. The film does not explicitly exhibit Lumumba’s

life in the conventional and corny way as it presents a historical lesson that is lengthy and

comprehensive. The film demonstrates great accuracy in the way Peck outlines the plot and

political themes but suffers from a lack of true exposition in the way events are presented

(Watson, 2017). For instance, an audience that is unfamiliar with the Congolese History is likely

to experience challenges in following the narrative because of the cultural and political

differences of the characters and the themes presented such as imperialism.

Although Peck does not overly glorify Lumumba and his political journey, he manages to

paint a fairly human portrait of the leader who sometimes revered as the saint of Congolese

independence who was martyred. The unwieldy story of Lumumba has the main objective of

grovelling audience sympathy, considering it covers most of the events leading his assassination

compared to his contribution as a political leader and the pioneer of Congolese independence

(Watson, 2017). Lumumba’s political abilities were spotted earlier by the Belgians, who were

them colonizers of Congo for a century, practicing inhuman despoliation of the Congolese land.

The Belgians become fearful over his political rise, which leads to his arrest, detention, suffering,

and afterwards released. Even after taking office, Lumumba realizes the forces are still being

controlled by the Belgians, who end up torturing him and when he attempts to replace the evillest

commander, Lumumba becomes a target of the CIA as they see him as a dangerous man

(Monaville, 2019). When Lumumba becomes the target of foreign powers, his fate is sealed and

plans are hatched to eliminate him from power.

Techniques
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The first key technique used is the cinematic editing style, characterized by numerous

photos and images of Lumumba and his political journey before he was assassinated. The images

are meant to bring out the cinematic effect of a person who had just occupied office for 2 months

but never lived to enjoy the fruits of his work and struggle towards Congo’s independence (Barr,

2012). Also, Peck uses a narrative style to tell the story of Lumumba, although he fails to feature

his major successes towards the struggle for independence as most events surround Lumumba’s

assassination. Peck brilliantly uses the storytelling technique to engage and connect with the

audience. The director achieves success in depicting how the leader was caught in a crossfire of

African ethnic intrigues and colonial economic interests that led to his assassination. The shot

composition and camera lighting of the images and videos of the film paint a vintage image that

resonates with the 1960’s environment.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Film

One key strength of the film is that it is elaborate in its exposure of post-colonial

independence, where although Congo had gained its independence from Congo, it was still not

independent from foreign interreference as the CIA and events of the World War II still had a

huge influence on the political and economic landscapes of the country (Watson, 2017). The

film’s cinematography is excellent in terms of the shots and images, with the objective painting a

fine and excellent Lumumba. The cast is also great as they manage to draw the audience into the

feeling of the climate and oomph of Congo in the 1960s (Barr, 2012). the fact that film is based

on drama with great historical backing makes it a desirable movie in understanding Congolese

history, its politics, culture, economics and the influence of foreign power in Africa. The movie

is an inspiring tragedy, using metaphors of the Congolese state to exhibit the disrespect of

Belgians and other foreign powers despite independence of the African country.
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Despite the strengths of the film, the movie is not exploratory enough considering it lacks

true exposition. The film also fails to tell a clear and clinched story as it is more nuanced, failing

to completely exploit rhetorical tools to draw the sympathy of the audience. Also, the stylistic

choices used by Peck in constructing the narrative of the story have a profound effect on the

audience’s experience with the cast and characters. Also, the lack of focus on the life and success

of Lumumba in the entire movie jeopardizes the thematic base of the film. Also, there is failure

in focusing the ethnic tensions within Congo, where Peck concentrates too much on the effect of

foreign powers and the frustration they caused during Lumumba’s leadership (Watson, 2017).

The film lacks context, which is likely to frustrate any audience, even those who are familiar

with the movie. A lack of context in the movie makes it difficult for an audience to connect and

understand the main themes in a film.

Similarities with other Movies (Hotel Rwanda and Half of a Yellow Sun)

Lumumba is much similar with Hotel Rwanda in numerous ways. First, is the

discrimination and ethnic tensions in the two stories. In Lumumba, numerous ethnic tensions in

Congo create conflict that extends to international borders. For instance, at one point, Lumumba

and Kasavumbu are denied entry into Elizabethville Airport, with Lumumba told that he cannot

set foot in Katanga soil. Also, the force Publique began enacting violence on the white settlers as

they demand bribes from civilians. In Hotel Rwanda, the tension between the Hutu and Tutsi

leads to the civil war, which causes the death of numerous leaders and civilians. Similarly,

corruption and bribes became a routine in Hotel Rwanda, which is also found in Lumumba. In

Hotel Rwanda, it is the effort of one person who fights the impossible odds to save as many

people as he can (The Cynical Historian, 2017). In Lumumba, it is the effort of Lumumba that

leads to Congo attaining independence and self-rule from the Belgians.

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In Half of a Yellow Sun, colonialism is the major theme, which also forms the thematic

plot of Lumumba. The film Half of a Yellow Sun is about the Nigerian Civil War that took place

during and after the Nigerian independence. Race and culture differences show how British

colonizers influenced political, cultural, economic, and social decisions in Nigeria even after

attaining self-rule. Politics is the main driver of all the other themes as it set the stage of

leadership, featuring symbolism of the political environment. The futility of war in Half of a

Yellow Sun is similar to that in Lumumba, where the local concerns over the domination of

foreign nationals and their influence on African politics and economics (cinepolitica, 2014). The

brutality and violence are major characteristics in the two movies, where they delineate the idea

that in Africa, nothing can be achieved in spite of all the violence.

Conclusion

A striking feature of the film Lumumba is the use of drama to tell the story of

independent Congo without any speculations involved. Peck is critical in exploring the history of

Congo, depicting the clutches that Belgium had on Congo. Also, the audience can easily

understand the influence of European and American forces and their imperialism acts on the

civilians. Patrice Lumumba is depicted as the footnote in the entire story, with the director

combining political and cinematic features to complete the major theme of international

interferences and imperialism of foreign powers in Africa, specifically in Congo. The greatest

takeaway from the film is that foreign powers largely contributed to the assassination of Patrice

Lumumba and exploitation of the rich natural resources from Congo. My understanding of

Africa has changed after watching the films as I now know foreign powers still controlled the

resources in Congo, Nigeria, and Rwanda even after they achieved independence. However,
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Peck should have focused more on the ethnic tensions and conflicts and their contribution

towards using divide and rule to jeopardize Lumumba’s leadership.

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References

Barr, B. (2012). Raoul Peck’s Lumumba and Lumumba: La mort du prophète: On Cultural

Amnesia and Historical Erasure. African Studies Review, 54(1), 85–116.

https://doi.org/10.1353/arw.2011.0006

cinepolitica. (2014). Half of a Yellow Sun (trailer) / Cinepolitica 2014. In YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP4PjEinz2I

dmcgrathdls. (2018). Documentary on Patrice Lumumba. In YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3MKWZ9slnM

Monaville, P. (2019). The political life of the dead Lumumba: Cold War histories and the

Congolese student left. Africa, 89(S1), S15–S39.

https://doi.org/10.1017/s000197201800089x

The Cynical Historian. (2017). Hotel Rwanda | Based on a True Story. In YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c4Qr4RS_qY

Watson, J. (2017). FILM REVIEW: Raoul Peck’sLumumba:A Film for Our Times. Research in

African Literatures, 33(2), 230–235. https://doi.org/10.2979/ral.2002.33.2.230