King Leopold's Ghost (2006)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King Leopold’s Ghost is a documentary film which premiered in 2006.

 

The topic is the history of the Congo from 1885 to 2005. The film is divided into two parts:

 

Part one covers

** King Leopold II and the Congo Free State

** The time from 1885 to 1908

 

Part two covers

** The Congo as a Belgian colony (1908-1960)

** The Congo as an independent state (1960-2005)

[For more than 25 years (1971-1997) the official name of the country was Zaïre]

 

The first part of this film shows how King Leopold II acquired the Congo as his private property in 1885. He called it the Congo Free State. 

 

Sadly, the state was not free.

 

He promised to bring civilization and economic development to the country. 

 

Sadly, he did not do that.

 

Instead, he used and abused the Congo and the people of Congo to enrich himself. He plundered the country of its natural resources (ivory and rubber). His private army punished anyone who failed to deliver requested products on time.

 

The second part of this film shows how the Congo Free State was transferred to the state in 1908 and how the Congo became a Belgian colony where the local people were treated as second-class citizens in their own country. Foreign companies were allowed to exploit the natural resources of the country (copper, gold and uranium).

 

In 1960, independence was proclaimed without much preparation. When the Belgian and the US governments realized that a popular politician (Patrice Lumumba) wanted not only political but also economic independence, they felt that he and his supporters had to be stopped. They were eliminated.

 

During the next few years, the country was going through a crisis. In 1965, a pro-western soldier (Mobuto) seized control of the government; he ruled for many years with western support.

 

But after the end of the Cold War in 1990, Mobuto was no longer regarded as an important asset for the western world. Without support from the western powers his government began to fall apart. In 1997, he gave up and went into exile. He died in exile.

 

After Mobuto, an opposition movement came to power, but once it had secured control of the government, it was not willing to allow any kind of democracy in the country. Conflict and violence continued to dominate the Congo for several years.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Directors: Pippa Scott and Oreet Rees

** Writer: Pippa Scott

** Based on a book by Adam Hochschild: The Ghost of King Leopold: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa  (1998)

** Narrator: Don Cheadle

** Music Yoav Goren

** Run time: 102 minutes

 

More than 20 persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):

 

** Jean-Pierre Bemba – Vice-President, DRC – leader of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC)

** Mubanga Wa Beya – Luebo village elder

** Jacques Depelchin – Historian

** Lubamba Dibwe – Security officer, the Shinkolobwe mine

** Mathieu Zana Aziza Etambala – Professor of History, University of Leuven

** Jim Freedman – Development specialist

** Adam Hochschild – Author of King Leopold’s Ghost (1998) on which the film is based

** Maurice Lenain – Chief administrator in Congo’s northeast province 1945-1960

** Juliana Lumumba – daughter of Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) – former minister of culture, DRC

** Jules Marchal – Former Belgian official, Congo

** Papa Maurice – Former Belgian Congo police officer

** Frank McCord - author

** Mbayi Mpoyi – Manager, Sheppard’s Printing Press

** Gregoire Mulamba – Director, Humanitarian Rights Centre, Katanga

** Reverend Etienne Mutshipayi - Theologian

** James Newman – Geographer, Syracuse University

** David Northrup – Professor of History, Boston College

** Jan Vansina - Historian

** Annick De Ville – Architectural historian

** Father Honoré Vinck

** Ernest Wamba Dia Wanoba – Professor, Senator, DRC

** Ludo De Witte – sociologist - author of The Assassination of Lumumba (2001) (2003)

** Arnaud Zajtman – journalist – AP and the BBC

 

Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the participants. Archive footage is used while the narrator is talking. Old photos are used extensively.

 

Several human rights advocates are presented and quoted. Here are four examples:

 

** Roger Casement (1864-1916)

** E. B. Morel (1873-1924)

** William Henry Sheppard (1865-1927)

** George Washington Williams (1849-1891)

 

What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

 

71 percent = Meta

75 percent = IMDb

67 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

92 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

 

On Amazon, there are at the moment 97 global ratings and 42 global reviews. The average rating is 4.3 stars which corresponds to a rating of 86 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. They range from 71 to 92 percent.

 

When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that there is a clear difference between the professional critics and the general audience. The critics are more positive than the audience.

 

This is a common phenomenon when we are talking about documentary films. It is a rare occasion when the general audience offers a rating of 80 percent or more for a documentary film.

 

The history of the Congo when it was controlled by King Leopold II is a horrible story. The history of the Congo as a Belgian colony is different, but still not pleasant. The history of the Congo as an independent state is dominated by many violent conflicts.

 

This is why I cannot say you will enjoy watching this film. But I do believe you can appreciate it. This story is important and deserves to be told. In this film it is done very well.

 

In my opinion, the ratings on Meta and IMDb are too low, while the other ratings are more appropriate. When I look at the two ratings of Rotten Tomatoes, I have to side with the critics.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS # 1. Leopold (born 1835) was king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. He was the absolute ruler of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. 

 

Towards the end of this period, there was much criticism of his brutal methods. In 1908 he was forced to transfer his private colony to the state and the Congo became a Belgian colony. 

 

The king died in 1909, only one year later. Independence was proclaimed in 1960.

 

PS # 2. Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death is a documentary film which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2003. 

 

This film covers much of the same ground as King Leopold’s Ghost. The most obvious difference is that it has a shorter time frame. It covers only the time when King Leopold II was in charge (1885-1908).

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. General history of the Congo

 

** Red Rubber - King Leopold II’s Regime: The Belgian Slave Trade in the Congo over Twenty Years by E. M. Morel (first edition 1906) (second edition 1919)

 

** King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa  by Adam Hochschild (1998) (2019)

 

** European Atrocity, African Catastrophe: Leopold II, the Congo Free State And its Aftermath by Martin Evans (2002)

 

** Leopold II: Butcher of the Congo by Tod Olson (2008)

 

** Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason Stearns (2011) (2012)

 

** Congo: The Epic History of a People by David Van Reybrouck (2014) (2015)

 

# 2. The assassination of Patrice Lumumba and two close colleagues in January 1961

 

** Martin Kettle: [US] President [Eisenhower] ordered murder of Congo leader, The Guardian, 10 August 2000

 

** David Akerman: Who killed Lumumba? BBC News, 21 October 2000

 

** The Assassination of Lumumba by Ludo de Witte (2001) (2003)

 

** Stephen Castle: Belgium admits role in killing of African leader, The Independent, 17 November 2001

 

** Bill Vann: The unquiet death of Patrice Lumumba, World Socialist Web Site, 16 January 2002

 

** Joanne Laurier: Carlucci bleeped from HBO version of Lumumba, World Socialist Web Site, 15 March 2002

 

** Tom Eley: Fifty years since the murder of Patrice Lumumba, World Socialist Web Site, 22 January 2011

 

** Who Killed Hammarskjőld: The UN, the Cold War and White Supremacy in Africa by Susan Williams (2012) (2014)

 

** Gordon Corera: MI6 and the death of Lumumba, BBC News, 2 April 2013

 

** Jean Shaoul: Britain’s involvement in assassination of Congo’s Lumumba confirmed, World Socialist Web Site, 18 April 2013

 

** Tom Vanderstappen: Facing the truths of Belgium’s colonial past: The unsolved case of Patrice Lumumba’s death, The Brussels Times, 11 September 2018

 

** Romain Gras: Death of DRC’s Lumumba: The Belgians weren’t the only bad guys, says daughter Juliana Lumumba, The Africa Report, 18 September 2020

 

** Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: Reversing a Bloody Legacy, The Wilson Quarterly, Fall 2020

 

** The Internationalist: Long Live Lumumba! By Diem 25 Communications, 21 January 2021

 

** White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Colonization of Africa by Susan Williams (2021)

 

# 3. Movie and video

 

** Lumumba - a historical drama which premiered in 2000. Director: Raoul Peck. Run time: 120 minutes.

 

** How the US and Belgium Assassinated Congo’s First Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, New Africa, 26 December 2019 (available on YouTube)

 

** How Mobuto Conquered Congo: The Complex History of the Leopard of Zaïre, New Africa, 24 April 2021 (available on YouTube)

 

*****

King Leopold's Ghost:

A Story of Greed, Terror, and 

Heroism in Colonial Africa

by Adam Hochschild 

(Hardcover 1998) 

(Paperback 2019)

 

*****

Leopold

(1835-1909)

King of the Belgians 1865-1909

Absolute ruler of the Congo Free State 1885-1908

 

*****