... hugely informative ... but [it] can be hard to get through ... not so much because of its sometimes excessive level of detail, but because of the stream of atrocity photographs we are subjected to.
Comment
09/29/06
King Leopold's Ghost (2006)
91 %
Reviews Counted: 11 Fresh: 10 Rotten:1 Average Rating: 7.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Synopsis: THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED Academy Award winner Don Cheadle narrates this documentary, which takes a look at the brutal reign of King Leopold II, who oversaw the slaughter of over 10 million people in the Congo. [More]
Genre: Education/General Interest
Starring: James Cromwell, Frank McCourt, Alfre Woodard
Director: Pippa Scott
Reviews
1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Although King Leopold's Ghost dwells perhaps too long on the viciousness, it does offer clues on how it became a circle.
09/28/06
Top Critic
An often infuriating (and excruciating) film to watch, but one that gets to the root of the despair that now plagues so much of the African continent.
09/28/06
King Leopold’s Ghost can be recommended as an economical education in one of the lesser-known atrocities of the capitalist system, as well as an eye-opening account of history’s most ruthless amasser of wealth.
08/23/06
In its hard-hitting depiction of a legacy of unspeakable brutality, this film shows that the ghosts of Leopold are alive and well.
08/18/06
Top Critic
The movie, directed by Pippa Scott and Oreet Rees, includes beautifully shot footage of the lush landscape, plus horrifying black and white footage and stills of the Congolese under the yoke of Leopold and his successors.
08/18/06
Europe's genocidal adventures in Africa receive a passionate reckoning in this ambitious documentary based on Adam Hochschild's best-selling history of the same title.
08/18/06
Top Critic
It is an indispensable treatise on Western hegemony and capitalist plunder -- as seen through the troubled history of the Congo.
08/18/06
Ghost throws its most powerful punch in its second half, reporting on contempo events as a direct repeat of the ghastly Leopold era.
08/18/06
Top Critic1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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