At the Berlin conference of 1885, Europe divided up the African continent. The Congo became the personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium.
On 30 June 1960, a young self-taught nationalist, Patrice Lumumba (Eriq Ebouaney), became, at age 36, the first head of government of the new independent state. He would last two months in office.
This is a true story.
Lumumba is a gripping political thriller which tells the story of the legendary African leader Patrice Emery Lumumba. Called "The politico of the bush" by journalists of his day, the brilliant and charismatic Lumumba, rose rapidly to the office of Prime Minister when Belgium conceded the Congo's independence in 1960.
Lumumba's vision of a united Africa gained him powerful enemies: the Belgian authorities, who wanted a much more paternal role in their former colony's affairs, and the CIA, who supported Lumumba's former friend Joseph Mobutu (Alex Descas) in order to protect USA business interests in Congo's vast resources and their upper hand in the Cold War power balance. The architects behind Lumumba's brutal death in 1961, a mere nine months after becoming the country's first Prime Minister, recently became known and are dramatised for the first time in Lumumba.
Special Agent Matti
*
M (Medium level violence, adult themes)
115 minutes (1:55 hours)
Film: 7 February 2002
DVD rental: 1 October 2003
DVD retail: 1 October 2003
