White King, Red Rubber, Black Death
ArtMattan Productions | Release Date: October 21, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
British 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. Read full review
80
VarietyRobert Koehler
A 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. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Dramatization 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. Read full review
70
Film ThreatPhil Hall
A remarkable triumph of documentary filmmaking. It is impossible to walk away from this film without being jolted. Read full review
63
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Bate is to be congratulated for reminding the world of Leopold's wickedness, even if he does OD on re-enactments. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Unfortunately, Bate saddles his otherwise compelling chronicle with awkward re-creations and an aggressively overbearing narration. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Regrettably, 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. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJoshua Land
A formal hodgepodge, Congo suffers from abrasive voice-over narration, stilted re-enactments, and an awkward courtroom conceit, but gets by on its shocking material. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Although too compressed by half, the film manages to recreate what, at one point, the hectoring narrator will call an "archaeology of repression." Read full review
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