Mati Diop’s touching documentary about the return of 26 royal treasures from the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey to modern-day Benin is a slow burn, but once it gets going, it’s completely transcendent: an understated but incredibly precise exploration of colonial legacies, cultural identity, political tensions, and national pride. Really brilliant.
Bird
Andrea Arnold has a talent for making ordinary settings and people feel extraordinary (just watch Red Road, American Honey, and Fish Tank—that last one is also on Mubi), and her latest film is no different. It stars the wonderful Nykiya Adams as a disillusioned 12-year-old who, fed up of her dad’s eccentricities (Barry Keoghan is very funny in that part), makes friends with a mysterious drifter (a sensitive Franz Rogowski) as she’s walking through the rolling fields of rural Kent. It’s just stunningly shot and utterly transportive.
