Here are review links for this film submitted by our members:
- Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Mati Diop (“Atlantics”) takes a unique approach to her documentary on the return of stolen artifacts to Benin, imagining the interior life of a statue of King Ghézo…At only 68 minutes, “Dahomey” covers its subject from every angle.
- Alan Mattli @ Filmexplorer
- Excerpt: Dahomey is not merely a film about what to make of this particular example of restitution but also one about the impossibly diffuse legacy of colonialism writ large.
- Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: It’s a powerful account of just how complex the concept of colonialism remains and how its hold on freed nations doesn’t automatically disappear via independence.
- Jacob Oller @ The A.V. Club
- Excerpt: Filmmaker Mati Diop follows 26 artifacts from the Kingdom of Dahomey (which some may recall from 2022’s The Woman King) as they are returned by France to Benin. Assessing this move from the perspective of the pieces themselves—including an elaborate carved throne, a towering statue of King Ghézo, and metallic markers of death—as well as the recipients of these revenants, Diop takes a brisk yet thoughtful look at whether even antiquities can go home again.
- [New] | Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: The return of the treasures, the murmuring of the spirits and the new thinking of the people receiving the restitution make this documentary, in the top fifteen 2025 Oscar list, an eye-opener.
