"A journey from the mouth to the source of the Congo, the world's greatest river basin. The film's dramaturgy consistently follows the journey. Gradually, a portrait of the Congo emerges. Shipwrecks give an inkling of the dimensions of human tragedies occurring here. One experiences the trip like leafing through a photo album, taking note of everything: from the tsetse fly to the thunderstorms, from the patriotic songs of the soldiers in their dugout canoes through the Mai-Mai warriors to Mobutu's unfinished palace, which is sinking back into the jungle like a desecrated temple. And yet, when the travelers cut inland to avoid the rapids and encounter men there sweating to repair a 150-kilometer stretch of railway that was shut down after the plundering of 1990-91 and the war, we see the extraordinary courage of a people taking its survival into its own hands. One asks where it finds the strength to create a future. Everything is revealed: this is the deep understanding with which Congo River overcomes the myth. The various passages shed light on each other and, tied together by the river, compose an overall picture of a country that stands on the verge of the abyss – but erectly." Olivier Barlet
Production: Les Films de la Passerelle; Les Films d'Ici
World Sales: Wide Management
Cinematographer: Michel Techy
Composer: Lokua Kanza
Sound: Lieven Callens
Esitor: Marie Quinton
Narrator: Lye Mudaba Yoka, Thierry Michel, Olivier Cheysson
Format/screen ratio: 35mm, 1:1.66, Color
Running time: 116 minutes, 24 frames/sec.
Langauges: Lingala, Kiswahili, English, French
