Danxomè

1892, Danxomè.
In order to assert its influence against Germany, which was arming the king of Danxomè, France sent troops to this independent kingdom on the Gulf of Guinea, which would become the colony of Dahomey and then Benin. The expeditionary force’s doctor took his own son, Alex, a sensitive young man and lover of poetry, with him, with the idea of “making him a man.” On the ship, two big-hearted legionnaires, Staf and Karel, became his protectors, which earned him homophobic taunts. The army of the King of Danxomè was known and feared for its famous warriors of unparalleled courage, somewhat hastily dubbed “the king’s Amazons” by the Europeans.
During a battle, Alex, who was supposed to bring wounded soldiers to the ambulance, panicked and fled. His run ends at the bottom of a hole several meters deep, where a young enemy warrior has also fallen. Injured, Agosì lets Alex treat her leg before helping him out of their vegetal prison and disappearing into the forest while Alex finds his way back to camp. Upon his return, Staf tells him of Karel’s death and confesses that Karel was in love with him.
Alex prepares to return to France, overcome by the fierce desire for independence he saw in Agosì’s eyes.