Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
A vibrant archival jazz essay exposes the cultural and geopolitical machinery behind the Congo crisis and Patrice Lumumba’s murder.
Overview
A powerful exploration of music's role in political upheaval during a tumultuous era.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Graphic
- urgent
- intellectually demanding
- visceral
- history viewing
- jazz film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Johan Grimonprez’s dense, vibrant documentary essay as an invigorating and formally ambitious fusion of jazz, archival filmmaking, and Cold War history.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film interweaves jazz musicians, Patrice Lumumba's Congo, and Cold War intervention through rhythmic editing and associative argument.
Archive footage of Lumumba, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Abbey Lincoln, Nikita Khrushchev, and Congo's crisis is assembled into a multimedia essay.
The film examines jazz's role in Cold War cultural politics alongside musicians' protest against Lumumba's murder.
The Congo coup is connected to Belgian colonialism, CIA involvement, uranium, mineral wealth, and superpower rivalry.
Films like Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, and why
The Fog of War
archival political documentary examining American power, covert intervention, and global Cold War consequences
The Act of Killing
formally inventive documentary essay connecting colonial history, political violence, and media archives
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
music-centered historical documentary using performance and cultural politics to illuminate social struggle
I Am Not Your Negro
dense archival essay about colonialism, race, and the political construction of historical memory
Movie Details
- Director
- Johan Grimonprez
- Release Date
- 2024-09-11
- Runtime
- 150 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (75)
Cast
- Patrice Lumumba
- Louis Armstrong
- Nikita Khrushchev
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Andrée Blouin
- Abbey Lincoln
- Max Roach
- Malcolm X
- Nina Simone
- John Coltrane
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat about?
- A vibrant archival jazz essay exposes the cultural and geopolitical machinery behind the Congo crisis and Patrice Lumumba’s murder.
- What is Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat as graphic.
- What did critics think of Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat?
- Critics broadly regard Johan Grimonprez’s dense, vibrant documentary essay as an invigorating and formally ambitious fusion of jazz, archival filmmaking, and Cold War history.
- Which films are like Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat?
- Films with a similar feel include The Fog of War, The Act of Killing, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), and I Am Not Your Negro.
- How long is Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat?
- Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat runs 150 minutes.
- Where can I watch Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat?
- In United States, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat streams on Kino Film Collection.
