Shockumentary/Mondo Week Marathon

Title : Africa Addio (1966)

Overview
“What the camera sees it films pitilessly, without sympathy, without taking sides,” it begins. “This film only says farewell to the old Africa and gives the world a picture of its agony.” As colonialism collapsed in 1960s Africa, Jacopetti and Prosperi rushed to the Dark Continent to record the horrifying battle for control that followed. Here was a world now ruled by rebels and refugees, plunderers and poachers, mercenaries and murderers, a land suddenly aflame with brutality, racism and unspeakable slaughter. At the risk of their own lives, the filmmakers’ cameras captured it all. The result is a daring and disturbing work that ranks among the greatest achievements in documentary cinema, an experience that remains as shocking – and shockingly relevant – as it was 40 years ago. This is AFRICA ADDIO.

My Impression
This one is more a documentary than a mondo film, but it is in the Mondo Cane Collection so I treat it as a mondo film for the purpose of my marathon. The strong point of this movie is the fact that it's a first hand documentation on the beginning of the african decolonization at its worst. Not that the filmakers didn't want to show the good side of this processus, but the transfer of power was so badly done that a complete mess was inevitable (43 years later it's always a mess). You need a strong heart for watching this film since nothing is hide : the Arabs genocide in Tanganyika and Zanzibar (now Tanzania) by the Black population, the Belgian Congo (now the Burundi and the Rwanda) civil war between the Bahutus and the Batutsis, animal massacre in the natural reserve by the black population, complete destruction of the ancient agricultural system, ... Add to this a black revolutionary shot while he is arrested by an army officer, thousands of Arabs fleeing in the sea to escape a massacre (the next day we see them drowned on the beach) and many other events as sad than these. I think that you will understand that this isn't a pleasant watch, but like I've said this is an historical document and it's really important to know the past events to understand the actual african situation. You can read many books on the subject, but the words will never be able to express this past moment like the images do.

Did I recommand it? It depends. If you are interested by the African history the answer is yes, but if not don't watch it since it's a very dark and sad document.

Rating :