Exterminate All the Brutes is an internationally co-produced documentary television miniseries revolving around colonization and genocide, directed and narrated by Raoul Peck. The series consists of four episodes and premiered in the United States on April 7, 2021, on HBO. It premiered in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2021, on Sky Documentaries. The series takes its name from Sven Lindqvist's 1992 book of the same name, on which it is partially based, a phrase which Lindqvist in turn borrowed from Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness, in which the quote "Exterminate all the brutes" appears.

Plot The series follows colonization and multiple genocides, and the effect of both, alongside imperialism and white supremacy.In addition to the written works the series adapts, the documentary also follow Raoul Peck's personal life and his connection to colonialism.

Cast Raoul Peck as himself, the narrator Josh Hartnett as White Man, a recurring representation of colonialism. Caisa Ankarsparre as Chieftain Ya'Hoo Cuchee, a recurring representation of indigenous women. Richard Brake as General Alex Descas Bakary Sangaré Denis Lyons as Lee Eriq Ebouaney Stefan Konarske as Nurse Shane Woodward as Reporter Aïssa Maïga Fraser James Ettore d'Alessandro as Nobleman Habib Diakhaby Edward Arnold as Missionary Zinedine Soualem Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Sven Lindkvist as himself (archive footage)

Episodes

Production Raoul Peck began working on the project after an executive at HBO agreed to produce a documentary of his on any topic. The series is based on the books Exterminate All the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot.

In February 2020, it was announced Raoul Peck would direct a 4-episode documentary series revolving around colonization and genocide for HBO, with HBO Documentary Films set to produce, with Josh Hartnett set to lead as the lead in scripted scenes.

Filming On July 30, 2020, Hartnett revealed that his segments were filmed in Paris, France before the COVID-19 lockdown.

Reception

Critical reception Exterminate All the Brutes received positive reviews from the critics. It holds an 84% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 25 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.25/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While Exterminate All the Brutes perhaps packs a little too much into its limited runtime, it remains a powerful, necessary examination of the horrors of historical colonialism and its lingering impact on the world today." On Metacritic, the series holds a rating of 83 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Cinéaste Magazine reviewed the series and praised its depiction of colonialism as necessary and found the inclusion of Peck's personal life inspired but criticized other areas, chiefly in the use of other media. The magazine criticized Peck's frequent quoting of written text of the books the series adapt while passing it off as his own observations, historical inaccuracies derived from the works the series is based on, and a montage using clips from the Holocaust documentary Shoah, which deliberately avoided using archival footage of the camps and violent reenactments for narrative purposes, mixed with images of African-American slavery and Drone strikes, which they referred to as exploitative.

Accolades AwardDateCategoryRecipientResultGotham Awards November 29, 2021 Breakthrough Nonfiction Series Exterminate All the Brutes Cinema Eye HonorsMarch 1, 2022 Outstanding Nonfiction Series Raoul Peck Outstanding Broadcast Editing Alexandra Strauss IDA Documentary Awards March 4, 2022 Best Multi-Part Documentary Raoul Peck, Daniel Delume, Rémi Grellety, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Jamie Morris, Jack Oliver, and Poppy Dixon Directors Guild of America Awards March 12, 2022 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries Raoul Peck Golden Reel Awards March 13, 2022 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Documentary Séverin Favriau, Emeline Aldeguer, Daniel Irribaren, and Vincent Maloumian Peabody Awards June 6–9, 2022 Documentary Exterminate All the Brutes

See also

List of films featuring colonialism

References

External links