African Apocalypse review: Exploration of colonial horrors falls into a familiar trap

A portrait of trauma: Rob Lemkin's film examines the impact of French rule in Niger
Audrey Owusu20 October 2020

"The conquest of the earth is not a pretty thing when you look into it." This quote from Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad's 1899 colonial horror story, is the first thing that you see when you begin the visceral documentary experience that is African Apocalypse.

The director, Rob Lemkin, has made more than 50 documentaries shedding light on injustices around the world. The sole focus of this film, however, is Lemkin's co-writer Femi Nylander, as he embarks on a spiritual journey to Niger to uncover a colonial killer.

While working on a research project, activist, poet and writer Nylander began to notice similarities between Conrad's fictional character Kurtz and the colonial French Captain and genocidal murderer Paul Voulet. In 1898, Voulet was sent to unify French colonies in Africa. Instead, he carried out one of the most gruesome campaigns of violence ever recorded. The film follows Nylander as he travels to Niger to unravel the extent of Voulet's violent impact and better understand the trauma and destruction that it wrought. With echoes of Conrad's novel, Lemkin frames the journey as a pursuit between Nylander and Voulet, highlighting comparisons to Kurtz.

Unlike many documentaries on colonialism that choose to solely focus on the murder and torture of African people, this one opts to explore the generational impacts of French colonialism on the Nigeriens. It explores the spirituality within Nigerien culture and how its people have attempted to recover from the complete desecration and removal of their beliefs.

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Importantly, the impacts of colonialism are discussed with Nigeriens. Nylander is assisted by local guides, and visits miners who were forced to supply uranium, tax-free, to France until as recently as 2014. Their recollections of death within the mines are heart-breaking; that such a major injustice could have been kept from the public consciousness for so long is enraging, if not at all surprising - many African nations are still being exploited and supplying resources to the West under unfavourable terms. In one scene, as the miner sits shaking, his companion turns to Nylander and admits that he is "still frightened". This is a portrait of a nation suffering from generational PTSD, largely dismissed by the rest of the world.

Though the film generally provides an reflective and insightful look at the horrors of Paul Voulet and colonialism, it falls into a trap, as many documentaries on this topic do. In its attempt to explore the humanity of those brutalised by colonialism, it is unwittingly guilty of dehumanising its victims with the blasé depictions of the torture faced by many Nigeriens. Images and audio are shown without warning, almost forgetful of the fact Black people viewing this may be affected. 2020 has exposed the world yet again to violence against Black bodies. What we don't need is desensitisation to this trauma.

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