The Woman King (2022) Review : Mirror of Unity in Diversity

 

Work Identity

Title: The Woman King

Genre: Laga, Drama

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Producer: Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Maria Bello

Writer: Maria Bello, Dana Stevens

Cinematography: Polly Morgan

Starring: Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, John Boyega

Production companies: TriStar Pictures, Entertainment One, TSG Entertainment II, JuVee Productions, Welle Entertainment

Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing

Release date: 9 September 2022 (TIFF); 16 September 2022 (United States); 5 Oktober 2022 (Indonesia); 

Duration: 135 minutes (2 hours 15 minutes)

The Woman King (2022) is a film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Dana Stevens and Maria Bello. The film won the major best film award from the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Best Films of 2022 and placed fourth on the American Film Institute (AFI)'s 10 Movies of the Year. The film is set in the 1820's Africa. To be more precise, the Kingdom of Dahomey, a kingdom that once actually stood there, has now become the country of Benin.

This film tells the story of Agojie, a troop of female warriors from the Dahomey Kingdom who fight against national slavery. Agojie, honored warriors whose strength is feared throughout Africa. The legendary troop is headed by Nanisca, the Miganon.

Nawi, the main character of this film, is a tough and stubborn girl. Since childhood, she had always wanted to become an Agojie member. She really dreamed herself to be one of the women who stood strong at the forefront of Dahomey. However, expectations will never be a reality.

When Nawi returned home, she found herself being betrothed to a rich merchant by his parents. Of course she balked at their plan, which earned her a slap on cheek. Because of the rejection, her father became enraged and dragged Nawi to the Dahomey Kingdom's palace. "Go to war then. You will understand what pain is," said the father.

Nawi underwent rigorous military training there along with other new Agojie members. The obstinate girl eventually realized the significance of following the rules and what a pain actually meant. Nawi even discovered her dearest buddies in this same female soldier environment. Including Izogie, one of the Agojie veterans, who, although ignorant, continues to support Nawi's development. 

Meanwhile, out there Oba Ade and his Oyo warriors were still roaming around. The Oyo Empire was a large nation that was Dahomey's main opponent, with their side constantly demanding absurd amounts of tribute, if not for slaves by the Dahomey Kingdom.

In the midst of their process releasing Dahomey from slavery, Oyo was still haunting Dahomey with their tribute requests. They demanded 40 female Agojie slaves, but the King of Dahomey only offered to provide 20. The Agojie personels were sent there with the plan to destroy Oyo's slave trading port.

When the riots started, Santo Ferreira, one of the Portuguese agents for the slave trade in Africa, panicked. His efforts to ship the African slaves to Portugal kept him quite busy. He wasn't even aware that his (now former) colleague, Malik, who finally sided with Dahomey, had betrayed him. 

Nanisca's daring move, which ultimately enabled her to exact her personal retribution against Oba Ade, brought an end to the war that raged last night. The Agojie were greeted with applause at the victory party and Nanisca's inauguration as Woman King when they arrived back in Dahomey.

Scenes that depict the relationships of fellow Agojie help us understand what solidarity is. Their tale absolutely twisted my emotions inside out. The scene where Nawi and Izogie are in one frame, even when they are only talking, is, in my opinion, the most memorable scene in this movie. The chemistry is excellent beyond belief! I enjoy seeing Izogie's character, who is like Nawi's big sister.

My favorite dialogue in this film is where King Ghezo said, "The Europeans and the Americans have seen if you want to hold a people in chains, one must first convince them that they are meant to be bound. We joined them in becoming our own oppressor. But no more. No more. We are a warrior people! And there is power in our mind, in our unity, in our culture. If we understand that power, we will be limitless. My people, this is a vision I will lead. It is a vision that is shared."

You can learn leadership, tolerance and humility from Nanisca's personality. Some of her subordinates came from other African countries, but she considered them all equal. There is neither low nor high. All the same. Ultimately, it comes down to how you treat each other. 

The Woman King (2022)'s downside is that it has multiple plot holes and a dangling ending. Malik, a Dahomean mulatto of Portuguese descent, played a major role in the one-night standoff. He took part in brawls and sailed on Santo Ferreira with African slaves. But where did he go after that? After this scene, suddenly it jumped to Nanisca's coronation scene. Malik is nowhere to be seen! 

Did he then become a citizen of Dahomey, or did he return to Portugal after dawn? Or did he join other white slave traders, where did the European slave traders go? Did they manage to escape to their home country? Or are they burning with their business glory? Or are they hiding somewhere in Africa? These things are still a mystery to me. 

It's not historically accurate, but it doesn't make the movie a bad movie. Historical facts aside, I think this movie is really well put together. The acting of the actors, the action scenes and the cinematography are excellent. Also, the action scenes are well-choreographed so that it didn't looked awkward at all. Overall, this movie is very interesting to watch. Don't waste your time.