ROBERT MUGABE… WHAT HAPPENED?

DIRECTOR: Simon Bright

CAST: Robert Mugabe, his friends and enemies

CLASSIFICATION: tba

RUNNING TIME: 80 minutes

RATING: ***

ZIMBABWE is such a big black hole of bad news at the moment that it takes a documentary like this to crystalise the chain of events in your mind.

This sad reminder is a detailed explanation of what has come to pass in Zimbabwe, teasing out the country’s political history through the lens of Robert Mugabe’s actions.

The mix of old footage of speeches and music videos, combined with the more modern newcasts and interviews with contemporary politicians as well as people who used to know Mugabe, is well edited by Ronelle Lootes and Joel Jacovella.

Narrated by Guy de Lancey, the documentary takes us back to the late 1970s, when the world first learned of Mugabe as a well-spoken beacon of hope.

It’s an almost painful reminder of the elation of Zimbabwe in 1980 when he united the nation, taking us back even further to the black-and-white footage of the days when he started off in Joshua Nkomo’s political party.

This isn’t exactly Mugabe’s political life story, it is the story of Zimbabwe’s rise and fall, but the way the documentary puts it, the man’s quest to remain in power has shaped that story.

The documentary paints a picture of contradictions. As a character study, we hear how Mugabe is a British gentleman to the core in his dress, etiquette and decorum, but then this is pitted against his hatred for Britain.

As we transition from black-and-white footage to colour, Mugabe’s stance changes, hardens and becomes more militant.

Some of the old footage is particularly fascinating, like the images of Maggie Thatcher waltzing with Kenneth Kaunda, the pictures of Samora Machel and the reminder of how he browbeat Mugabe into signing the Lancaster House Agreement.

Earlier eerie footage of Mugabe saying land will never be seized is pitted against the admission by the narrator that only a handful of white farm owners were in possession of more than half the Zimbabwean land in the early 1980s. Contrast that with the landgrabs of 20 years later.

Mugabe isn’t painted as a total villain, with his earlier success noted – like the fact that his policies helped Zimbabwe to become the breadbasket of the region for a good many years.

But, again, the initial positivity of a thriving Zimbabwe is held up against the later atrocities and the picture becomes bleak indeed.

The images of the Matabeleland massacres – a period in history the world, and it seems even Zimbabwe, is studiously avoiding – are particularly sad.

South Africa’s role in the destabilisation of the region is also highlighted and we are brought up to speed with the role of the MDC rushed through in a rather hurried fashion.

The features asks the question: what happened to Mugabe, to change him from a man who had the potential to turn Zimbabwe into a success story and then into a person whose legacy is one of genocide?

It puts the question out there, but doesn’t give a definitive answer, saying only that it is his insistence on holding on to power that has made him this way.

It is a blow-by-blow account, a visceral and nasty reminder of what has happened, but this is a document, not an explanation, as the title suggests.

To sign up for our Tonight newsletter click here

To vote on our Tonight poll click here