by Mattie Lucas
Cinema from a Decidedly Queer Perspective
Dahomey | 2024
Long lost works of art from the West African kingdom of Dahomey make their way home after being plundered by French colonizers in Mati Diop's quietly extraordinary documentary, Dahomey. Following 26 historical artifacts as they journey from French museums back to their homeland in modern day Benin, Dahomey explores the surprisingly complex politics behind this historic transfer through the eyes of those facilitating their arrival, concerned citizens of Benin, and even the artifacts themselves.
There's something agreeably no-nonsense about Alex Parkinson's Last Breath, a straight-down-the-middle, meat-and-potatoes true-life rescue thriller we rarely see anymore. Perhaps I'm looking at the past through rose-colored glasses, but there once was a time when mid-budget actioners like this were multiplex staples. Nowadays, you're more likely to see movies like this relegated to streaming rather than playing on a big screen.