A Congolese gynaecologist and humanitarian named Denis Mukwege (played by Isaach De Bankolé) has made it his life goal to treat women who have been severely raped and brutalized within The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and despite many global appearances (even giving a speech at the United Nations in 2012), little aid has been received to quell this ever-growing issue. While he provides much-needed relief for the hundreds of women healing in his Panzi hospital, the next step in treating them officially comes when Belgium doctor Guy Cadiére (played by Vincent Macaigne), journeys to the DRC with his half-Congolese daughter, Maïa (played by Manon Bresch) to help Mukwege at his hospital. While he appreciates the assistance and the love he receives from his patients, the constant harassing from the hostile military government (who don’t want Mukwege bringing light to their actions) along with the non-stop mistreatment of so many women in his country, pushes Mukwege to a breaking point that almost forces him to give up altogether, but it’ll be the voices of those he’s helped who’ll help bring him back down to earth.
Released in 2025 with the help of StudioCanal and the backing of high-profile actress Angelina Jolie (who acts as a co-producer), MUGANGA: THE ONE WHO TREATS is very upfront about its goal and nicely presents its point with flair, solid pacing, grounded performances, and authentic-feeling environments. It isn’t a total encapsulation of the story or person, and further elaboration on him, the surrounding characters, and the country’s crumbling status would’ve been beneficial, but for what this movie hoped to get across, it definitely achieved its goal.
Considering the film doesn’t have a Wikipedia page and isn’t that well-known outside of France (where it performed very strongly), MUGANGA: THE ONE WHO TREATS feels as much of an underdog as its lead; relying on the goodwill and earnest compassion of its crew and team to get its point across rather than a massive film studio. While this means less funding and minimal marketing, it also prevents any outside voice interfering with its messaging, and with all this in mind, the film does a good job highlighting the work of a very impactful person. While definitely not having a huge budget, the film has enough polish, color and activeness behind the camera to feel above a normal independent feature, and this is due to how professional every component comes across whether it’s the camera work, performances, scripting, or direction, all of which are very solid.
French director Marie-Hélène Roux (who is responsible for films such as A Departed Life, Shortage of Children, and Links of Life), uses her personal experience growing up in several African countries to really bring a personality and authenticity to this environment as well as the movie overall, showering this incredibly bleak and depressing subject matter with just enough vibrancy and hope to not shade the audience with somberness, and smartly barely shows the barbaric act of rape and only explores the aftereffects as to remind everyone of the topic and suffering that’s inflicted without glorifying it. It’s a very soulful movie that is livened up due to the vibrancy with which it portrays the Congolese women, and it’s this very reason the portions spend within the Panzi hospital are the best parts of the movie.
While the film draws attention to a real human crisis, and through the script written by Roux and her screenwriting partner, Jean-René Lemoine, does include some interesting tid-bits that add a bit more color to this situation like how several women have been ostracized and viewed as ‘’tainted’’ for something that was forced onto them, how many don’t wish to leave the hospital as they feel unsafe back in society, and how the children born from these rape victims are treated as lesser for being associated with such a dark past, the film might’ve benefitted from a little more contextual information to make this largely well laid-out script feel whole (even these interesting components are mainly just touched upon rather than actually explored).
The dialogue can feel a bit scripted in parts and not like natural speech, the story has a sense of escalation and cinematic pacing through plot beats like the build up to his U.N speech and a near assassination attempt, but is largely pretty low stakes outside of those select moments, and since the film doesn’t go in depth into the history of the governing body of DRC or the reasons surrounding their cruelty, it can make their hostility feel like any regular militaristic rule present in many films instead of something that feels deeply rooted in reality. These are minor flaws, but they are still noticeable.
Denis Mukwege seems like a very respectable individual who was deservedly honored for his role in treating hundreds of thousands of female rape victims since the 1980s, and a movie based around his work wouldn’t only feel right, but could help broaden his message and give it more widespread awareness, so it’s good that the film captures the situation and him as a person very nicely.
This is largely thanks to the performance by Isaach De Bankolé, who brings an exhausted composure to Mukwege and portrays him as a man who’s weighed down by this never-ending push for justice, but still houses enough humanity to not feel mentally broken. His portrayal can feel a bit mythic rather than entirely normal, but little touches like his shaky home situation and internal battle between his medical and religious backgrounds are enough to make him feel real
A lot of the female patients also make for very entertaining support, as while what happened to them is brutal and unimaginable, the community and love felt between all of them is very endearing and a lot of the actresses help convey this. Women like Jennifer Heylen, Nicole Letuppe, Nadège Ouedraogo and Stella Kitoga leave an impression despite not having much plot relevance, Déborah Lukumuena as a woman forced to deal with being impregnated by her rapist makes for a memorable side plot, Yves-Marina Gnahoua is pretty great as Mukwege’s wife, Babetida Sadjo is part of a very memorable sequence of watching a woman stagger several miles after being assaulted to reach the haven of the hospital, and Nicole Doukaga Kouaba doesn’t do much as a character named Antoniette, but really leaves an impression through some truly harrowing wails and expressions (which are totally justified due to her truly sickening situation).
Despite being the secondary lead, Guy Cadiére is not that interesting and is written in a way that feels preachy without having the personal backing to make him feel authentic, but Vincent Macaigne acts the part perfectly nicely and he and Bankolé share some pretty decent chemistry to mostly make up for it. Kody Kim comes across as very charming but only feels included for a specific reason around the third act, and despite the character of Maïa having a good starting point for an arc and being well-performed by Manon Bresch, doesn’t have a lot to do in the grand scheme of the film and kind of disappears around the final act.
The look of the film isn’t overly cinematic and doesn’t contain a lot of flashy sets or experimental camera angles but doesn’t feel pedestrian or poorly visualized either, existing in this nice middle ground where it can present something more normalized but have enough polish to still make it look nice. Whether or not a more gritty and close-quarters approach would’ve fit better is up for debate, but for how this movie wants to be presented, it looks pretty good thanks to the cinematography by Renaud Chassaing, which knows when to look pristine, high definition and a little more elevated, and when to scale things back and feel more intimate.
As previously stated, the best moments are spent within the hospital, and this isn’t only because the more intimate camera work allows for some nice interactions between characters, but also because the setting itself is very nice, appropriately looking and feeling like a building not backed with a lot of money or even security, but does its job at being a pleasant haven for whoever needs it with its clean interiors, schoolyard aesthetic, and nice tones of color on the walls and in the rooms. This is also accentuated by the very nice costuming handled by Catherine Marchand, with the cultural attires bringing a much-needed pleasant aspect of the Congo landscape that isn’t hindered by the brutality of the situation.
Muganga: The One Who Treats isn’t one of the great biopics due to its minimal exposure and narrow focus on a specific event in its focus’ life, but in terms of portraying its titular gynaecologist, it certainly did a good job showcasing what kind of man Denis Mukwege is. Considering this humanitarian crisis is still going on, it’s more important than ever for films like this to continue exposing such tragedies, and while more contextual information and fleshed out characters could’ve made the viewing experience even richer, the strong performances (especially from Isaach De Bankolé), believable yet lively aesthetic and atmosphere, and solid direction that really brings the humanity out of this story, this movie may have the chance to help the healing get even stronger.
