Both rely on the slave trade with Europeans to gain arms and wealth, which sees the Oyo raiding villages in Dahomey to capture people in order to trade them with white slavers.
In the patriarchal society of Dahomey, Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) refuses to be abused by the prospective husband her father wants for her, and the marriage plans fail. As a result, she is taken to the palace and handed as a ‘gift’ to the king, for the Agojie.
In such a context, the Agojie offers a life where, though members are supposed to remain as virgins, they have many freedoms that other women in the kingdom do not.
Nawi accepts this, but also rebels against the strict discipline required of the regiment – and finds herself rubbing up against its general, Nanisca (Viola Davis) and her immediate commander, Izogie (Lashana Lynch).
However, the situation facing Dahomey from the larger and stronger Oyo becomes worse and the women warriors need to work together.
Director Gina Prince-Bythwood’s film is based on fact. Some of the characters here (the king, for instance) are real, as are the Agojie.
Some commentators are comparing this film to Gladiator. In my opinion, this film is vastly superior.
The script by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens is acutely aware of African involvement in slavery and doesn’t avoid it. Indeed, it’s a central part of the story.
Polly Morgan’s cinematography is beautiful without ever getting in the way of the story.
The performances are universally better than ‘good’. It is a superbly acted film. But, oh my … Viola Davis …
If she doesn’t have, at the very least, an Oscar nom come next year, I’ll be raging. It is an astonishing performance of massive depth, massive emotion and massive intellectual heft.
And frankly, if that isn’t enough of a recommendation, then I’m sorry, you’re lost to me!
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