'Zola' is a Modern Black Fairytale
It’s fun, it’s energetic, but it’s also understated and vicarial. Zola is a modern black fairytale and future of black movies.

After a night in the city, Mathilde wakes up on a deserted island the next morning without knowing how she got there. Here she meets several other youngsters who are in the same situation. Nobody knows why they are there or how to get away. As if it were not enough to be left on a deserted island without food or warm clothes, they eventually find out that there is a killer loose on the island.
It’s fun, it’s energetic, but it’s also understated and vicarial. Zola is a modern black fairytale and future of black movies.
This little Netflix film was very inspirational. It passes the Bechdel test, and features a different worldview with rural Indian representation.
A complex, realistic, and loving mother-daughter relationship is at the heart of this story about Black pageants and the fight for a better future.
While Peter’s heroics might have been a bit unrealistic at times due to his lack of experience, I will always support the civilian taking down the establishment.
The power of a talented female director like Patty Jenkins and an overall diverse cast is what makes this film worth watching for me.