Lumumba (2000)

The true story of controversial leader of independent Congo, Patrice Lumumba.

Director:

Raoul Peck

Writers:

Pascal Bonitzer, Dan Edelstein (English dubbed version)

Stars:

Eriq Ebouaney, Alex Descas, Théophile Sowié

3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Patrice Émery Lumumba
Alex Descas	...	Joseph Mobutu
Théophile Sowié	...	Maurice Mpolo (as Théophile Moussa Sowie)
Maka Kotto	...	Joseph Kasa Vubu
Dieudonné Kabongo	...	Godefroid Munungo
Pascal N'Zonzi	...	Moïse Tshombe
André Debaar	...	Walter J. Ganshof Van der Meersch
Cheik Doukouré	...	Joseph Okito
Makena Diop	...	Thomas Kanza (as Oumar Diop Makena)
Mariam Kaba	...	Pauline Lumumba
Rudi Delhem	...	Général Emile Janssens
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Francis Adam	...	Le maître d'hôtel
Olivier Bony	...	BAUDOIN
Alain Bouillé	...	Le pilote du Dakota
Pavel Dobrovsky	...	Belgian soldier

Storyline

The true story of the rise to power and brutal assassination of the formerly vilified and later redeemed leader of the independent Congo, Patrice Lumumba. Using newly discovered historical evidence, Haitian-born and later Congo-raised writer and director Raoul Peck renders an emotional and tautly woven account of the mail clerk and beer salesman with a flair for oratory and an uncompromising belief in the capacity of his homeland to build a prosperous nation independent of its former Belgium overlords. Lumumba emerges here as the heroic sacrificial lamb dubiously portrayed by the international media and led to slaughter by commercial and political interests in Belgium, the United States, the international community, and Lumumba's own administration; a true story of political intrigue and murder where political entities, captains of commerce, and the military dovetail in their quest for economic and political hegemony.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | belgium | patrice lumumba | intrigue | assassination | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

France Belgium Germany Haiti

Language:

French Lingala English

Release Date:

27 September 2000 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Lumumba, retour au Congo

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,625, 1 July 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$684,121, 16 December 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arte France Cinéma,Arte,Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final script is the result of documentary research. Another source is "Une saison au Congo", a play by Aimé Césaire.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Patrice Émery Lumumba: [voice over narration] You never knew about that night in Katanga. No one was to know.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemania (2002)

User Reviews

Censorship in TV version fo this film, but only in US?

I just saw this movie last night, 2/21/02, on HBO TV in New York and noticed a fascinating and rare bit of censorship within it. In one late scene in the movie when Congo politicians and 1-2 Americans meet around table and vote whether Lumumba is to be captured/killed, the apparent American, perhaps a CIA officer, is addressed by Gen. Mobutu and asked how he wants to vote. But the American's name uttered by Mobutu is bleeped out in the televised version I saw and heard. Then in the film's final credits, this same character's name is masked over and appears only as "Mr......" played by actor Dennis Thatcher. So what IS the name of the mysterious man, no doubt too accurately identified, in this movie, airing on American TV some 2 years after it was made.