Movieo
Poster for Lumumba

Lumumba

2000 · 1h 55m · N/A Drama, History
Directed by Raoul Peck

Seen it?

Overview

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 Belgian 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.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
81%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Peck, who assayed Lumumba's life in a 1991 documentary, now paces the doomed man's story like the genuine thriller it is.

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Fresh

At the heart of the movie is Ebouaney's performance as Lumumba, every bit as intense as Denzel Washington's as Malcolm X.

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
Fresh

Ebouaney is easily the best thing about this import.

Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News
Fresh

An engrossing film that attempts to unearth a dark period of African history and the short-lived tenure of Lumumba's power.

Marta Barber, Miami Herald
Fresh

The vividness of the figures and situations whets the appetite.

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

Comments

Talk about the film with other members

More films