The World Expo of 1958, the railways or the now defunct national airline Sabena – all of these subjects have led to spectacularly entertaining DVDs. And to concur with the 50th anniversary of Congolese independence, Cinematek has released the beautifully edited two DVD set Belgisch Congo Belge.
The 15 colonialist films – one feature, the other shorts – have been made by three directors. The four films by Ernest Genval from the 1920s and ’30s – three of them silent – mainly focus on industrial or commercial activities in the Congo, like the building of a railroad line or the extraction of gold. Some of these films were financed by industrial companies, and they all served as a tool of propaganda.
Gérard De Boe, who fills the first DVD with 10 titles, all but one dating from the 1950s, was by far the most critical of the three. Yet, some of his films were also financed by industry, so at times he also was an instrument in the hands of propaganda.
The main feature on this DVD set is Bwana Kitoko, the famous but rarely showed documentary that André Cauvin shot about the first trip king Baudouin made, in 1955, to the then Belgian Congo. But the king’s visit is mainly an opportunity to portray the country. Thus, the most interesting part is not the king waving incessantly to the rows of people welcoming him, but the capturing of the strangelooking okapi animal and the intricate preparation leading up to it.
The pompous tone with which the viewer is addressed might be not unusual for a semi-official documentary from that time, yet it only serves to make you feel like a child. But what really rubs against the grain is the strikingly condescending with which the Congolese are portrayed: all the good things in the country spring from the wise white man. (Except the splendid fauna and flora, although I wouldn’t have been surprised if this had been claimed, too.)
This, of course, was not exceptional within colonial powers. Like Grace Winter states in one of the many excellent essays that accompany the DVDs: “In essence, colonial cinema is a legitimisation of colonisation and the mother country’s civilisation offensive.”
These films all have their historical importance, but they are, in general, more interesting in their portrayal of the gaze with which Belgium looked at Congo than for their portrayal of the colony itself. We might despise that point of view now, but they are signs of bygones times. And that makes them still worth seeing.
Belgisch Congo Belge can be purchased in shops or from the Cinematek website
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