Lumumba

In his brief but incandescent heyday, Congolese revolutionary Patrice Lumumba (Eriq Ebouaney) was called "the Elvis Presley of Africa," though Malcolm X is the more apt comparison. The charismatic Lumumba was unyieldingly dedicated to helping his country forge a post-colonial identity independent of both divisive tribal rivalries and European influence, and in 1960 became his country's first independently elected prime minister. In less than a year he was brutally assassinated, his body dismembered and burned as though to remove every trace of him. His death paved the way for dictator Mobuto Sese Seko (Alex Descas), who ruled until he himself was deposed in 1997 by o...