Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

The CIA sends Louis Armstrong to Africa: How is jazz linked to the assassination of Congolese Prime Minister Lumumba, i.e. to colonialism and global politics?

The linking of Nikita Khrushchev's famous outburst of rage at the United Nations on October 12, 1960 with the clapping rhythm of a jazz session is just one of the many ingenious ideas in this great film about the assassination of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and jazz as a means of fighting for US hegemonic claims. In his multi-award-winning essay film, Johan Grimonprez, known not only as a filmmaker but above all as a visual artist (including a DOCUMENTA participant in 1997), interweaves global politics and music history, the legacy of colonialism, the independence movements of many African states in the post-war period, the machinations of the CIA and the entanglements of Afro-American music greats into a film that itself almost comes across as a casual and cleverly constructed jazz symphony. One of the best and smartest documentaries of the year: "develops a pull that inevitably draws you in and doesn't let go afterwards." (epd Film)