Streaming Movie Adventures: Soundtrack of a Coup d’Etat

Did you know that people running nations sometimes do very shady things to keep their countries in control of the world? WHAT A SHOCK!

A long thin image. Black and white, with a cyan overtone. A woman's face is partially visible; you can see her eyes, nose, some hair, and the top of her right ear. She is on the left side of the image,looking to her right.
A stylized image of Patrice Lumumba shown from the chest up. He is rendered in green and pink pastels. The background is deep red, and words are partially visible.

The story of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba by the CIA, told through the lens of jazz. I’m sure glad our government hasn’t done anything shady since then.

It took me a while to get into the rhythm of this- probably because it’s pretty frenetic and I’m running on about four hours of sleep- but even before I locked it I appreciated the look and sound used to make old newsreels, memos, and TV recordings work tell an eventually cohesive story.

I’ve now seen 40 of the 50 2024 Oscar nominees. I’m mostly missing documentaries: two full length, and all five shorts. The other three are Maria (cinematography), Elton John: Never Too Late (song), and The Six Triple Eight (also song). I might get one or two in before the show tomorrow, but I’ll probably go for a bike ride instead.

It’s weird to make silly posters for documentaries about serious subjects, but the energy of the film makes it feel a bit more comfortable. I think the only thing I really like about this poster is the title design. It’s not exactly the right base font to match the original, but it’s pretty darn close.

A poster for Soundtrack of a Coup d'Etat that references the poster for The Sound of Music.

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