'Dahomey' is Short-Listed by the Oscars

         On October 25, 2024, 'Dahomey' was released by MUBI, earning rave reviews and a score of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Soon after, on December 17, 2024, the film was short-listed for Oscar glory as it could nab a nomination, which would bring the film to an even bigger audience than ever before. "From acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics), DAHOMEY is a poetic and immersive work of art that delves into real perspectives on far-reaching issues surrounding appropriation, self-determination and restitution. Set in November 2021, the documentary charts 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey that are due to leave Paris and return to their country of origin: the present-day Republic of Benin. Using multiple perspectives Diop questions how these artifacts should be received in a country that has reinvented itself in their absence. Winner of the coveted Golden Bear prize at the 2024 Berlinale, DAHOMEY is an affecting though altogether singular conversation piece that is as spellbinding as it is essential." But what did the critics say?

        Wendy Ide of Screen International says that the film "Feels like an important contribution to an ongoing conversation about the legacy of colonialism in Africa, and to the thorny topic of restitution and repatriation of cultural heritage to the country of its origin." Adding, "The effect is slightly disconcerting at first, but the arcane otherworldly quality and Orcel’s lyrical words work to powerful effect. Elsewhere the use of sound, together with electronic music by Wally Badarou and Dean Blunt, plays an important role in giving a sense of the power and significance of the items, as they embark on their belated return journey. Another key voice in the film is that of Calixte Biah, the Beninese curator who accompanies the treasures from Quai Branly to Cotonou. His reverence in the face of the artefacts, and his detailed assessments of their condition and identity provided a crucial historical context for the items."

        Adam Solomons of indieWire notes, "For those who know little about the subject matter, “Dahomey” is a bold and memorable history lesson. But with Diop’s expressive talents as they are, it’s fair to hope that she returns to the world of fiction next time." Concluding, "Filmmakers reflecting on ceramics as a symbol of colonial happenings is not new: Diop has said that one of her only conscious influences was “Statues Also Die”, a 1953 film about looted African art in French museums directed by Alain Resnais, Chris Marker and Ghislain Cloquet. Parts of it are so critical of colonialism that it was banned in France. That film is thirty minutes long and “Dahomey” might have worked better at a runtime closer to that: the student debate, though well staged, becomes a bit repetitive, and some of the shots of boxes being loaded and unloaded go at a snail’s pace. The weight of history clearly weighs on “Dahomey”, and the fantastical elements need time and space, but a little more pace where possible would be no bad thing."

       David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praises the film, stating, "Words delivered in the low rumble of Ghezo’s voice suggest the disorientation of emerging from “the kingdom of night” into a place “far removed from the country I saw in my dreams.” Imaginative use of electronic music by Wally Badarou and Dean Blunt, who hail from Beninese and Nigerian roots, respectively, amplifies the mythical and spiritual aspects of travel across centuries. With a fluidity of form and subject comparable to what Ava DuVernay achieves in Origin, Diop folds the poetic into the political, without ever becoming didactic. The film reflects on sensitive issues pertaining to the return of looted property and on the partial erasure of Dahomey’s history and language once schooling in French became the educational norm."

Photo by Charlie Solorzano on Unsplash

       Jessica Kiang of Variety writes, "Diop fashions her superb, short but potent hybrid doc “Dahomey” as a slim lever that cracks open the sealed crate of colonial history, sending a hundred of its associated erasures and injustices tumbling into the light." Adding, "One of the young debaters calls the return of the 26 pieces “a savage insult.” Another sees its motivation as solely political, a token gesture made by the French to distract from domestic pressures. And when one young woman locates the occasion’s importance in how it can help to rewire the population’s understanding of their own history — “I was told I was descended from slaves,” she says fiercely, “But I was descended from Amazons” — even that triumph is tempered by Diop’s careful inclusion of another of the returned artworks: an ornate Dahomey throne adorned with dozens of figurines representing the Kingdom’s powerful slave trade. Dahomey, particularly under Gezo, derived a great deal of wealth and a good portion of its national identity from conquering and enslaving neighboring peoples."