Exterminate All the Brutes (miniseries)

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 book with 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.

Cast

• Raoul Peck as himself, the narrator
• Josh Hartnett as White Man, a recurring representation of colonialism.
• Casia 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 star 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 a 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".

Accolades

See also

• List of films featuring colonialism

References

External links

• Official website
• Exterminate All the Brutes at IMDb
• Exterminate All the Brutes at Rotten Tomatoes
• Exterminate All the Brutes at Metacritic