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Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

Play trailer 2:04 Poster for Soundtrack to a Coup d'État 2024 2h 30m Documentary History Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 65 Reviews 97% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this magnificent essay film, a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo's leader Patrice Lumumba. Richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story of precedent that resonates more than ever in today's geopolitical climate.
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Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

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Critics Consensus

Director Johan Grimonprez's sprawling documentary moves to a furious beat, laying out its thesis with an energy that's as enthralling as it is thought-provoking.

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Critics Reviews

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Sam Davies Sight & Sound Dec 18
Johan Grimonprez’s Soundtrack to a Coup d’État takes this collision of politics and jazz, Cold War and colonialism, and lays out with cool precision the different strands of its backstory. Go to Full Review Philip Concannon Little White Lies 01/21/2025
4/5
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is a dense and meticulously constructed picture. Go to Full Review Kimberley Jones Austin Chronicle 01/07/2025
4/5
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat relates not just Lumumba’s assassination but the larger role the Congo, a nation rich with natural resources, played in the Cold War, and the so-called Congo Crisis’ surprising intersections with midcentury American jazz. Go to Full Review Dave Giannini Geek Vibes Nation 07/19/2025
8.5/10
History is full of important lessons and there are many to be found in Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. Go to Full Review Anna Hoang Boston Hassle 07/13/2025
4/5
[The film] is the perfect composition of unfolding a historical event, tying together archival footage with literature and performance for a digestible presentation of the crisis. Go to Full Review Sean P. Means The Movie Cricket 05/10/2025
3.5/4
A rich account of a violent history that most Americans have likely forgotten — which is a shame, since American tax dollars, funneled through the CIA, financed a lot of it. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Cagle 02/19/2025 Grim subject but excellently presented. Outstanding music which creatively accompanied the unfolding of complex concomitant events, "players", geographical/govermental/political/financial circumstances coherently See more kathryne c 01/02/2025 This was an excellent documentary! See more Paula T 12/15/2024 Strong combination of jazz and politics, much interesting documentary footage. See more Amikigu D @amikigu May 3 This documentary was absolutely spellbinding, infuriating, inspiring, and refreshingly experimental from start to finish. If you haven't hardened yourself off to the world, you will certainly cry throughout, as so many of humanity's low points are on display here, especially that of the US and Belgian governments. Even as someone who has spent my life learning about the injustices of my country (the US), my jaw was still on the floor after hearing the degree of virulent racism and hypocrisy coming out of so many Western leaders' mouths. I was impressed with the insane amount of archival footage and quotes that were compiled for this; you could easily spend months going down the rabbit hole of learning about everyone who appeared in the movie. I also watched this in chunks, since the length made it hard to take in all at once, whether due to the sheer amount of information or the emotional intensity. Worth a watch for anyone interested in history, mid-century jazz, and decolonization. See more Lanfranco C @Lanfrancobz Nov 21 A movie that fills, fom its point of view, many historical gaps. See more Matthew R @RT52830269 07/29/2025 Powerful, discouraging, honest film. The more documentaries I see the include Russia the more I think Russia might be the good guys, idk. Movies like this are great but what good does it do? History will always shine a light on those who have acted in complete darkness, but nothing ever changes. See more Read all reviews
Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

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Cast & Crew

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Johan Grimonprez

Director

Zap Mama

Narrator

In Koli Jean Bofane

Narrator

Patrick Cruise O'Brien

Narrator

Louis Armstrong

Self

Andrée Blouin

Self

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Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

Soundtrack to a Coup d'État: Trailer 1 Soundtrack to a Coup d'État: Trailer 1 2:04 View more videos
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Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

Soundtrack to a Coup d'État (2024) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this magnificent essay film, a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo's leader Patrice Lumumba. Richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story of precedent that resonates more than ever in today's geopolitical climate.
Director
Johan Grimonprez
Producer
Daan Milius, Rémi Grellety
Screenwriter
Johan Grimonprez
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Production Co
Warboys Films
Genre
Documentary, History, Music
Original Language
French
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 1, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 7, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA)
$365.3K
Runtime
2h 30m
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