The thorny issue of cultural restitution is brought vividly to life in this documentary with a twist. It charts the repatriation in 2021 of 26 royal artefacts originally swiped from the Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin) by French colonisers. Statues and furniture are carefully packed in Paris for transit to the city of Abomey in the West African nation, where a resplendent exhibition hall awaits.
One statue of a past king is given a spectral voiceover to narrate the indignity of being taken from his rightful homeland and his trepidation at returning two centuries later. It is a bold move that pays off for director Mati Diop, who took the Golden Bear at Berlin this year for this sensitive and deeply absorbing study. More impressive, mind, is how she steps back and observes a rigorous student debate taking place around the returned artefacts, the scenes full of eloquent and impassioned opinions about the legacy of colonialism, the skewed identities of the colonised, and what – if anything – viewing these precious objects will bring to a sense of national identity.
You’re left wondering are these spirited and articulate young people the real national treasures on display. Four stars.