Marginally interesting bit of history, this black-and-white documentary of the French Ogowe-Congo Mission, which lasted three years, including fourteen months of observation in Africa, "the dark continent, which has always intrigued man."
Pygmy villages, pirogues, and jungle life are shown, with narration added in - and distracting overdubbed chanting and drumming. But to present this as silent footage with just a narrative would have been even less involving. Ideally, to have footage shown with its original soundtrack would have helped greatly.
As it is, the film is a curio, a look at central Africa in the late 1940s, its "violence, and majestic beauty," of interest probably only to people with an interest in the history of the Congo. All others will lose interest quickly.
Pygmy villages, pirogues, and jungle life are shown, with narration added in - and distracting overdubbed chanting and drumming. But to present this as silent footage with just a narrative would have been even less involving. Ideally, to have footage shown with its original soundtrack would have helped greatly.
As it is, the film is a curio, a look at central Africa in the late 1940s, its "violence, and majestic beauty," of interest probably only to people with an interest in the history of the Congo. All others will lose interest quickly.
