“…explores some very hard-hitting points around femininity, togetherness, family and war.”
The Woman King is about an all-female warrior unit who protected the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century, featuring stars John Boyega and Viola Davis.
Nigerian British star John Boyega revealed one of the reasons for saying yes to the project was the chance to collaborate with Davis, the Oscar-winning actor of “Fences”.
As much as the action sequences will enthral the audiences, the “nuanced and detailed look” at Black history is not to be missed out, the “Star Wars” alum said.
“It’s much more of a nuanced detailed take that goes into the journey of characters and their emotions as they change over time as these events happen to them.”
“We’re doing more than just hitting the surface level points that we know of this kind of history. We’re going deeper and deeper.”
“In my opinion, some of the best Black women in the industry have shown that they can do whatever they want within this field. I just wanted to be a part of their journey also,” Boyega added.
“The Woman King” primarily focuses on Davis’ character General Nanisca, the leader of the all-female group of warriors called the Agojie and how she trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies
“It explores different perspectives and some very hard-hitting points around femininity, togetherness, family and war. There are so many stories in there and there’s so many side stories with all the different characters and the ensemble that we have,” said Davis.
“If we just told a history lesson, that would be a documentary. Unfortunately, people wouldn’t watch it in theaters.” – Viola Davis on responding to criticism, accepted that much of the film’s story line is fictionalized.
A VIEW FROM US
The Woman King took us back to the time we first watched The Black Panther. That feeling of empowerment, watching real life super heroes on the big screen who look like us. We wanted to watch it again, this time with our siblings, cousins and friends!
There is a hunger amongst Africans, particularly those in the diaspora, for films that depict Africans in a powerful and unified light.
This one delivers.
Integr8.Africa 