The Siege of Jadotville (2016)

Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960s.

Director:

Richie Smyth

Writers:

Kevin Brodbin, Declan Power (based on the book by)

Stars:

Richard Lukunku, Danny Sapani, Andrew Stock

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Lukunku	...	Patrice Lumumba
Danny Sapani	...	Moise Tshombe
Andrew Stock	...	Man in a White Suit
Mark Strong	...	Conor Cruise O'Brien
Jamie Dornan	...	Patrick Quinlan
Fionn O'Shea	...	William Reidy
Sam Keeley	...	Bill (Sniper) Ready
Ronan Raftery	...	John Gorman
Mike Noble	...	Charles Cooley
Jason O'Mara	...	Jack Prendergast
Fiona Glascott	...	Carmel Quinlan
Melissa Haiden	...	Beautiful Nurse
Jordan Mifsud	...	John Donnelly
Conor Quinlan	...	Patrick Joyce
Charlie Kelly	...	Walter Hegarty

Storyline

In 1961, the UN sends an Irish peacekeeper troop commanded by Commandant Pat Quinlan to Katanga, in Congo, to protect the inhabitants of the mining town of Jadotville in the beginning of a civil war. Meanwhile the UN advisor Dr. Conor Cruise O'Brien launches a military attack named Operation Morthor against the French and Belgian mercenaries. Soon there is a reprisal from the mercenaries and Quinlan and his men are left under siege by a huge number of Katangese and mercenary troops. Will the Irish soldiers resist the attack?

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Plot Keywords:

congo | civil war | africa | mercenary | katanga | 

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

Ireland South Africa

Language:

English Irish French

Release Date:

7 October 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jadotville

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Parallel Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Military airbase in the movie Baldonnel is officially named Casement Aerodrome named in honour of Roger Casement, who was a diplomat of Irish extraction, humanitarian activist, Irish nationalist, and poet. Described as the "father of twentieth-century human rights investigations", he was honoured in 1905 for the Casement Report on the Congo. The Casement Report was a document written in1904 detailing abuses in the Congo Free State which was under the private ownership of King Leopold II of Belgium. This report was instrumental in Leopold finally relinquishing his private holdings in Africa. Leopold had had ownership of the Congolese state since 1885, granted to him by the Berlin Conference, in which he exploited its natural resources (mostly rubber) for his own private wealth. Casement was later executed by the British for the part he played in the Easter Rising of 1916.

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Goofs

Engine, wind, and propeller noise is remarkably absent during Dag Hammarskjöld's conversation with Conor Cruise O'Brien. The interior of a real Douglas DC-6 is very noisy, particularly near the wings where Hammarskjöld is seated; he would have to talk very loudly to be heard.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pat Quinlan: [narrating] I once heard a man say that, in Africa, the sun is like a furnace that either melts you or forges you.

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Soundtracks

DEIFY (Pusher Music Edit)
(Trailer Music)
Composed by Swann

User Reviews

Those were the dark days

I happened to be in Jadotville before the arrival of the Irish UN troops. The Katangese did not want the UN to be there at all and supported Moise Tshombe. Even the public aimed their hostility at the UN and praised Tsombe's mercenary forces. In Jadotville we knew that the Irish and trouble was coming, so some friends and I were evacuated to Elizabethville.

I lost touch with happenings at Jadotville and one never knew what really transpired there. It is only now by coming across this film that the truth comes out and why the secrecy was kept for 45 years.

I watched the film with anticipation, which also brought back many memories. I accept that the film was dramatized, but I can assure you it was no fun being there.