65
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghBritish documentarian Peter Bate frames a mix of archival materials and re-creations with a "trial" at which Leopold listens to testimony against him from within a wood-and-glass booth, like Nazi Adolf Eichmann at Nuremberg.
- 80VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerA stunning indictment of Belgium's brutal colonization of the Congo in the late 19th century, Brit documaker Peter Bate's White King, Red Rubber, Black Death illustrates how European exploitation in Africa caused irreparable damage to the continent.
- 70Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallChicago ReaderAndrea GronvallDramatization is often a questionable tactic in documentaries, but by picturing Leopold (Elie Larson) on trial like Adolf Eichmann, Peter Bate adroitly compares the colonial genocide to the Holocaust.
- 70Film ThreatPhil HallFilm ThreatPhil HallA remarkable triumph of documentary filmmaking. It is impossible to walk away from this film without being jolted.
- 63New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoBate is to be congratulated for reminding the world of Leopold's wickedness, even if he does OD on re-enactments.
- 63New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanUnfortunately, Bate saddles his otherwise compelling chronicle with awkward re-creations and an aggressively overbearing narration.
- 60The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinRegrettably, Bate uses many of the tools of tabloid television in making his case, including heavy-handed reenactments, an ominous, sinister score, and overly dramatic narration delivered in a voice shaking with outrage.
- 60Village VoiceJoshua LandVillage VoiceJoshua LandA formal hodgepodge, Congo suffers from abrasive voice-over narration, stilted re-enactments, and an awkward courtroom conceit, but gets by on its shocking material.
- 60The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisAlthough too compressed by half, the film manages to recreate what, at one point, the hectoring narrator will call an "archaeology of repression."