Alaraby
Released on Netflix, ‘Amina’ is a historical blockbuster that situates the viewer within the royal fortunes of the Kingdom of Zazzau. Unique in having an African, Muslim heroine as its protagonist, the film has nonetheless garnered mixed reviews.
Whilst the story of Amina is part of the Islamic history of West Africa, the film is largely devoid of referencing such [Netflix]
Amina, the coming-of-age historical feature film directed by Nigerian filmmaker Izu Ojukwu, was finally released by Netflix on November 4th 2021. It focuses on the Kingdom of Zazzau during the 16th century (one of several Hausa kingdoms at the time), and its famous royal who uses her military skills and tactics to defend it from internal and foreign forces.
While it might sound like the bog-standard Hollywood kingdom-epic, Izu chooses to focus on her ascension as an heir apparent or magajiya, rather than her 34-year imperial conquests as Queen, which she is well known for.
“It is not everyday that one watches a movie about a real-life military Queen with an African and Islamic personality, especially on Netflix”
In the first part of the film, we’re introduced to a young Amina, participating in royal court life with her father, King Nikautu and sister Zaria. Historians say as a child she was interested in the ‘martial arts’, and we’re shown a good re-articulation of where that came from among her other commendable traits. For instance, in one scene, Amina stands up to her father and the royal court when a slave-fighter from another tribe is denied his freedom, following a victory match with the Zazzau’s prized warrior.
Her ability to show empathy is apparent when she befriends his daughter. As an adult, she’s gifted with strength and fortitude, which of course becomes important as she embarks on her journey to her ultimate destiny to protect her family’s legacy– which sadly comes at a huge price during the film’s climax.
That journey’s finale is of course predictable. We expect Amina to win. And while the plot line is simple, I had hoped the few surprise turns we received came in earlier on during the film, and were fleshed out better. Perhaps her father should have been slain earlier, to further enhance Amina’s character arc., because it seems her only dilemma lies outside of herself . The army general’s slave-turned wife submits to his villainous and treacherous plan to kill King Nikautu…
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