The Woman King

Set in 1823, The Woman King draws on the history of Dahomey, the real West African kingdom that existed from the 17th-19th Centuries in what is now Benin – specifically the women of the Agojie. Having inspired the Dora Milaje warriors in Black Panther, the Agojie were a women’s army who guarded the king, famous for their strength and ferocity. The Woman King delicately navigates the tensions between historical truth and director Gina Prince-Bythewood and screenwriter Dana Stevens’ clear desire to show Black women as carving their own destiny, drawing on the sense of discipline, honour and sisterhood which underpin the warriors’ story.

Training sequences are epic, action-filled and exciting, battle scenes gory and fast-paced, all within a larger narrative of social conscience and resistance to oppression. Choosing not to ignore the nuances of Dahomey’s history and complicity in human trafficking, The Woman King explores war, brutality and freedom in their most multi-faceted, complex manifestations on an epic, fantasy scale.

Anna