Nzinga, Queen of Angola

12/2/2023

**Nzinga: the woman, the national leader, the mythological figure.** I saw this film yesterday, and I was reasonably satisfied. I don't think it's the first Angolan film I've seen, but it's certainly the first with some historical background. The film has flaws and will be uninteresting for anyone who is completely unaware of Angolan history, or the history of Portuguese presence in Africa. However, it is surprising due to its good production values and a certain rigor and objectivity in the way the story was told. There are flaws, the dialogues are very weak and melodramatic, but the film works. Firstly, who was Nzinga? Well… she was an African stateswoman from the mid-17th century. One thing I liked seeing in the film was the complex relational mechanics between African tribal roya