by Eleanor Mannikka
synopsis
Using newsreels of actual events that would lead to the independence of the Belgian Congo under Lumumba, Kasavubu, Adoula, and other leaders, this drama by Italian director Giuseppe Bennati is caught between a love story and the revolution. This in-between position also places the film in a kind of limbo. As the backdrop of the struggle for independence brings in fictional meetings between Italian correspondent Roberto Santi (Gabriele Ferzetti) and the Congolese statesmen, Roberto is also involved with Annette (Jean Seberg) the wife of a Belgian businessman. Both parts of Roberto's life -- professional and personal -- evolve under very unstable conditions.
