Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War.
Johan Grimonprez's documentary is a genuinely singular work — interweaving jazz history, Cold War geopolitics, and the assassination of Patrice Lumumba into a dazzling collage of archival footage, music performance, and political exposé. The plot construction is remarkable: using figures like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Nina Simone as both witnesses and unwitting instruments of US soft-power diplomacy creates a conceptually rich and disturbing argument. Novelty is very high — there is simply no other film quite like this in conception or execution, treating jazz as a geopolitical weapon while simultaneously celebrating its radical humanity. Cinematography earns a solid above-average mark for its masterful archival editing and rhythmic montage, though it is not cinematography in the traditional sense. Acting is not applicable in the conventional sense (it is a documentary), scored modestly. The ending, while powerful in its moral weight, winds down somewhat exhaustively after the film's already made its case — the three-hour runtime means the conclusion lands with diminished impact despite strong material.