85
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The Film StageLeonardo GoiThe Film StageLeonardo GoiDahomey begins where Statues Also Die ended, wondering what remains of our identities when the things those cling onto suddenly disappear––then resurface from oblivion. To this, Diop offers no clear answers. But in the heart-shaking passion of that university debate, in those students’ resolute commitment to reappropriate their own narratives, she finds something rarer still: a snapshot of a generation for whom this isn’t just the story of a restitution. It’s a resurrection.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyDiop folds the poetic into the political, without ever becoming didactic.
- 90VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangDahomey is a striking, stirring example of the poetry that can result when the dead and the dispossessed speak to and through the living.
- 88Slant MagazinePat BrownSlant MagazinePat BrownMati Diop’s captivating, fabulistic documentary Dahomey confronts the reality of how modernity has been shaped by the West’s theft of cultural heritage.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawIt is an invigorating and enlivening film.
- 80Time OutStephen A. RussellTime OutStephen A. RussellAt just over an hour, Diop’s strange, captivating and rigorously intellectual film leaves a mighty impression well beyond its compact length.
- 75IndieWireAdam SolomonsIndieWireAdam SolomonsFor 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.