Sometimes, in spite of all your attempts to change the world for the better, the world is not ready to change and irresistible forces silence you. Many such men fade into obscurity, and it’s a remarkable thing when a film can bring them back to life.

It’s a familiar theme for films set in the ’60s, a decade beloved by Hollywood and historians. It was a time of modern revolutions, wars hot and cold, battles foreign and domestic, fought with both guns and words – a turbulent era is inherently dramatic. But Hollywood is also somewhat narrow-minded in its conception of the ’60s. The Vietnam War, the struggle for civil rights and the counter cultural revolution are the staple bill of fare,but only from an American perspective and only within the borders of the U.S.

“Lumumba” tells a different tale of revolution in the ’60s, a tale of tyranny, betrayal, sacrifice and murder set in the heart of the Belgian Congo. Toward the end of colonial rule in the early 1950s a young politician named Patrice Lumumba (Eriq Ebouaney) rises quickly through the ranks of the Congolese National Movement, a revolutionary grass-roots political party. A former salesman, naturally charismatic leader and eloquent speaker, Lumumba is brave enough to speak his mind, even if it is against protocol. His somewhat unorthodox political maneuverings pay off and he is elected prime minister of the newly independent republic.

The film is a political thriller, morose in tone, but in a way that is inherently necessary for telling the story of a man who wanted to create a stable nation and the international power struggle that led to his ultimate demise. The film has the essence of an epic tale but goes for near documentary feel reminiscent of Errol Morris or Oliver Stone.

Director Raoul Peck, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, previously told the life of Lumumba in another film. In this latest version, with the combination of an already gripping tale and a new dramatic perspective, Peck constructs a chilling account of a revolutionary – a story that may take place on another continent, but still hits close to home.