I still don't get why some people don't like watching historical movies, because for me, they tell me what I need to know without doing too much extra, just like what The Woman King did. I so much enjoyed every aspect of this movie, from the warriors fighting to them training, the love they all share for each other, and the ideal of woman soldiers.
But what I found myself doing was asking the question I was asking at some point, which is, what happened to those people who are fighting to gain freedom, and they are also part of a system that denies freedom to others? You want to be free but don't want others to have their freedom.
I like how this movie took me back in time even though I was not yet born. As far back as 1823, the kingdom of Dahomey, which a lot of us now know as the Republic of Benin. And it follows a group of female military regiment known as Agojie who have pledged their regiment service to King Ghezo.
What I loved about this movie was that nothing was invented because the storyline was real, from the kingdom and the military to the names they used. But something I feel was a bit of an invention was some of those characters used that retold history just forr them to tell a particular story. But aside from that, the rest of the action and storylines were something that actually happened back then.
Nanisca, who was acted by Viola Davis, who was the general for all the military, was someone who got my attention right from her charisma, her command, and her intonation, and she is naturally an interesting woman to watch right from when I saw her in "How to Get Away with Murder," but I was also interested in all the women she commands. Though I'll say she carries the burden of what a leader should do, Izogie, whom I might call her second in command, is the backup/energy of their military. Because looking at her, she handled all the younger military women well, always encouraging them and teaching them how to fight without feeling weak.
And I also like how she bonded so much with Nawi even though she came from a different part; her father arranged a marriage for her, but she turned it down, and as young as she was, she chose a different path and joined the military.
Though Nawi joined the military so confused, angry, and stubborn to authority, I'll say she was inexperienced. But Mbedu transformed her gradually into someone I was more interested in because she didn't only become a warrior herself; she became fearless and also learned how to control her anger.
And one thing I liked about this movie was how they allowed themselves to know a bit about each other, especially Amenza, who was Nanisca's friend, knowing about her past, and she didn't use that against him. She protected it and kept her secret because they totally understood each other. I saw little things like that as something that made the movie more relatable than just packing some women together to act in another action movie.
And another character who got my attention even though he didn't have many scenes was King Ghezo, who was not just a king. But someone who found himself in the middle of political expectations, protecting his people from military pressure. His only means of protecting his kingdom was through slave trade. And another thing I noticed was how difficult it becomes when someone in a powerful position has to make a political decision when mortality and wealth are side by side.
I so much enjoyed watching the training scenes from the women and how organized they are, especially when they move together because they believe their strength doesn't come from individual ability but from their unity, discipline, and encouraging each other.
Even though I like this movie so much because it showed me the unusual. But then, I feel something uncomfortable deep down at some point because the movie gave Nanisca and her military women this anti-slavery look even though they were directly involved in military raids that produced captives for the Dahomey kingdom for their Atlantic slave trade.
I was a bit bothered about that anyway because the real history is already powerful without being cleaned up. I have seen the military women as good and strategically courageous soldiers before. But with all those things, they were also involved in slavery. But anyway, I like how they showed us instead of removing those scenes because the historical truth does not become less impressive because it's complicated.
And personally, the movie was an 8.4/10 because I appreciated how it was acted and how I saw the power of unity, especially in African women as warriors. And I'm glad to recommend this movie to anyone because it's one of the best historical movies I've seen so far. But mind you, I'm not recommending it because you can learn anything, but as another historical epic movie from a real life event.
imdb images
Other images are screenshots from my movie player
Rating: 84/100
