{{short description|2017 documentary film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = This Is Congo | image = This Is Congo poster.jpg | alt = | caption = | director = Daniel McCabe | producer = {{Plainlist| *Geoff McLean *Daniel McCabe *Alyse Ardell Spiegel }} | writer = | starring = | music = {{Plainlist| *Johnny Klimek *Gabriel Mounsey }} | cinematography = | editing = Alyse Ardell Spiegel | studio = {{Plainlist| *Turbo/Vision Film Company *T-Dog Productions *Sabotage Films *Thought Engine }} | distributor = Dogwoof | released = {{Film date|2017|9|1|Venice Film Festival}} | runtime = 92 minutes | country = United States | language = English, French, Swahili, Lingala | budget = | gross = }}
'''''This Is Congo''''' is a 2017 documentary film by American filmmaker and photographer Daniel McCabe.<ref name="Variety 1" /> It was distributed by Dogwoof and produced by Turbo/Vision Film Company, T-Dog Productions, Sabotage Films and Thought Engine. The film features a voice over by Ivorian actor Isaach de Bankolé.<ref name="Variety 1" /> It premiered at the Venice Film Festival as an out of competition title, and had a screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox in April 2018.<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter" /><ref name="POV Magazine" />
==Reception== ''This Is Congo'' received positive reviews from film critics. Cath Clarke of ''The Guardian'' rated it 3 stars out of 5, saying it is "a long read about the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo".<ref name="The Guardian 1">{{cite web |author1=Cath Clarke |title=This Is Congo review – distressing story of a humanitarian crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/25/this-is-congo-review-documentary-daniel-mccabe |publisher=The Guardian |accessdate=3 October 2019 |date=25 May 2018}}</ref> Clarke also said its potted history will "frustrate experts as superficial".<ref name="The Guardian 1"/> In a review for ''The New York Times'', Ben Kenigsberg said the film provides a lot to admire and that the "sheer scope of the subject matter might be even better served by the capaciousness of a mini-series".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/movies/review-in-this-is-congo-lives-in-conflict.html | title=Review: In 'This Is Congo,' Four Lives Shaken by Conflict | work=The New York Times | date=June 28, 2018 | accessdate=October 3, 2019 | author=Kenigsberg, Ben}}</ref> ''Los Angeles Times'' writer Gary Goldstein described it as "vivid" and "immersive", noting its characters "provide a haunting window into a deeply anarchic world too-rarely glimpsed".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Gary Goldstein |title=Review: Documentary 'This Is Congo' views war-torn African nation through four lives |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-capsule-this-is-congo-review-20180628-story.html |work=LA Times |accessdate=3 October 2019 |date=June 28, 2018}}</ref> Guy Lodge of ''Variety'' magazine said the film "excels when trading in details that can't be more substantively gleaned from written history and journalism."<ref name="Variety 1">{{cite web |author1=Guy Lodge |title=Film Review: 'This Is Congo' |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/this-is-congo-review-1202565474/ |publisher=Variety |accessdate=6 October 2019 |date=September 21, 2017}}</ref>
Boyd Hoeij of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' applauded the film's combat scenes, but criticized McCabe for "omitting things that are equally important for an understanding of the Kivu Conflict".<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter">{{cite web |author1=Boyd van Hoeij |title='This Is Congo': Film Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/is-congo-1034313 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |accessdate=6 October 2019 |date=September 1, 2017}}</ref> Ed Potton of ''The Sunday Times'' awarded the film 3 stars out of 5, describing it as "hard-hitting and often harrowing".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Ed Putton |title=Film review: This is Congo |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/film-review-this-is-congo-23w0xqbgc |publisher=The Sunday Times |access-date=6 October 2019 |date=May 25, 2018}}</ref> ''The New Yorker''{{'}}s Peter Canby said the film "covers a specific episode of the country's more general violence".<ref name="The New Yorker 1">{{cite web |author1=Peter Canby |title="This Is Congo" and the Ongoing Despair in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/this-is-congo-and-the-ongoing-despair-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo |publisher=The New Yorker |accessdate=6 October 2019 |date=July 12, 2018}}</ref> In addition, Canby highlighted the character Colonel Ndala as the standout among the four characters.<ref name="The New Yorker 1" /> In a review for ''Point of View'' magazine, Pat Mullen said the film "works viscerally and has a great impact at an emotional level" and that McCabe "implores audiences to bear witness to crimes to which previous generations turned a blind eye".<ref name="POV Magazine">{{cite web |author1=Pat Mullen |title=Review: 'This is Congo' |url=https://povmagazine.com/articles/view/review-this-is-congo |publisher=Point of View |accessdate=6 October 2019 |date=April 20, 2018}}</ref> Alan Scherstuhl of ''The Village Voice'' described the film's footage as "harrowing, raw and intimate".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Alan Scherstuhl |title=The Searing "This Is Congo" Embeds Us in a Nation's Terrifying Normal |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/06/26/the-searing-this-is-congo-embeds-us-in-a-nations-terrifying-normal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912154948/https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/06/26/the-searing-this-is-congo-embeds-us-in-a-nations-terrifying-normal/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 12, 2018 |publisher=The Village Voice |access-date=6 October 2019 |date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>
The ''Financial Times'' writer Nigel Andrews granted the film 3 stars out of 5, saying McCabe's multiple portraiture "enthral".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Nigel Andrews |title=This Is Congo — mercilessly illuminating |url=https://www.ft.com/content/fba1f794-5e7e-11e8-9334-2218e7146b04 |publisher=Financial Times |accessdate=6 October 2019 |date=May 23, 2018}}</ref> L. Kent Wolgamott of ''Lincoln Journal Star'' said the film tells the war-torn story of the DRC through "the testimony of four people, vintage news clips and raw, riveting footage from the battlefields and displaced person camps".<ref>{{cite web |author1=L. Kent Wolgamott |title='This Is Congo' movie review: Documentary looks at devastation of the war-torn country |url=https://journalstar.com/entertainment/movies/this-is-congo-movie-review-documentary-looks-at-devastation-of/article_7a5e3e18-408f-5f3a-91e3-15bd886efbc5.html |publisher=Lincoln Journal Star |accessdate=6 October 2019 |date=August 22, 2018}}</ref> In ''The London Economic'', journalist Wyndham Hacket Pain opined that although the documentary "may tell a story that is familiar from new reports and articles, it has rarely been told in such a meditative and poetic manner."<ref>{{cite web |author1=Wyndham Hacket Pain |title=Film Review: This is Congo |url=https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/film/film-review-this-is-congo/25/05/ |publisher=The London Economic |accessdate=7 October 2019 |date=May 25, 2018}}</ref> David D'Arcy of ''Screen Daily'' commended McCabe for presenting the DRC story with a "grim element of surprise", but ended up saying the documentary's multiple perspectives "can feel lopsided".<ref>{{cite web |author1=David D'Arcy |title='This Is Congo': Venice Review |url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/this-is-congo-venice-review/5121857.article |publisher=Screen Daily |accessdate=7 October 2019 |date=31 August 2017}}</ref> Reviewing for International Policy Digest, David Ferguson said ''This Is Congo'' was "beautifully photographed, and perfectly captures the often stunning landscape between violent bursts of war and personal fright".<ref>{{cite web |author1=David Ferguson |title='This is Congo' Review |url=https://intpolicydigest.org/2018/06/29/this-is-congo-review/ |publisher=International Policy Digest |accessdate=7 October 2019 |date=29 June 2019}}</ref>
==Accolades== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" ! Award ! Category ! Recipients and nominees ! Outcome !Ref |- |Global Cinema Film Festival |Best Film Editing |''This Is Congo'' |{{won}} |<ref>{{cite web |title='This is Congo' nets top award in Global Cinema Film Festival |url=https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/entertainment/20180314/this-is-congo-nets-top-award-in-global-cinema-film-festival |publisher=The Metro West Daily News |accessdate=7 October 2019 |date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:2017 French-language films Category:Swahili-language films Category:2017 documentary films Category:2017 films Category:American documentary films Category:Films about war crimes Category:Films scored by Johnny Klimek Category:2017 English-language films Category:2017 American films Category:English-language documentary films