Movie review (Nollywood)

I can see all my Nollywood fans jumping for joy after pleading with me for so long to do this (Nigerian Movies’ Review). Unlike my skeptics, I do not intend to bash the millions of Nollywood home videos ever produced, I simply just want to tell of the few Nigerian films I have actually enjoyed or have left an indelible mark on me that I can never forget.

I’ve never been a fan of Nollywood Movies though I admit we do have some fantastic actors and actresses in the business whose names are enough to make me sit down for at least 30mins of whatever film they act that I stumble upon (because really I don’t go out of my way to watch Nollywood Movies), people such as Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva, Desmond Elliot, Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Pete Edochi, Omoni Oboli, just to mention a few. I have even had the pleasure of organizing a photo session for Tontoh Dikeh back then when she was just starting out and parted away with a $100 gift from her. Lol.

All these to prove that I do respect the work of our Nigerian Movie Industry even though I’m among the few Nigerians who aren’t entrapped by tribalism, the glory days of culture before colonization or a definitive art form. I was raised in an environment of whites, exposed to western cultures at an early age and in turn, I have a wide appreciation from a variety of art forms. Well, enough about me, back to my review.

Nigeria is rated among the top three movie producing industries in the world within the likes of Bollywood and Hollywood in terms of quantity of movies churned out so it means we must be doing some things right. Here are a few impressionable movies I’ve encountered:

1. Last Flight to Abuja – ‘stroked’ by many for the heavy dependence on green screen effect (weak explosions and flying simulated scenes) and multiple flashbacks, I find this movie interesting. Its inspiration was drawn from the multiple aviation mishaps that had shocked the Nigerians into focusing on the need to improve our aviation sector (e.g. Sosoliso and Arik airline crashes as far back as 2007/2008). Directed in 2012 by award winning director Obi Emelonye (a Nigerian who studied Theatre arts and film in Nigeria before going to the UK where he studied and practiced Law then ventured back into film making in 2008; who also became one of the few Nigerians whose film (Mirror Boy) was a critical and commercial success as well as one of the few to be seen in a film festival outside Nigeria), starred the likes of Hakeem Kae-Kazim, a Nigerian born who has made great strides in Hollywood and is best known for his roles in the movie Hotel Rwanda and the Jack Bauer series, 24. The film had good casting; believable dialogue, meaningful scenes which made the film feel rich and I must say it was full of ingenuity. Kudos.

2. Ije (the journey) – from the minute I saw the preview of this movie starring Nigerian’s top 2 actresses (Genevieve and Omotola) I knew I would love this film because my curiosity was stirred. Released in 2010, this film won Best Editing at Treasure Coast International Film Festival and Best International Student film at Swansea Bay film festival in Wales, that same year. It wasn’t edited by Nigerians but it was directed, co-written and co-produced by Chineze Anyaene (a Nigerian) and had one other Nigerian actor in it (Clem Ohameze) alongside many foreign actors. Most of the scenes were shot in America but for me the movie stood out because of the social issues it subtly dealt with (the pitfalls desperate Nigerian girls fall into when in Diaspora) without being preachy. Staged around a murder trial and the justice system as it affects Africans in other countries, I found the beginning a bit boring because the narrator sounded like someone reading a script rather than someone facing the camera to tell a story. Yet I found the balance between the romance and actual criminal case to be quite refreshing. Well done.

3. Figurine (Araromire) – I have a weakness for the supernatural and when someone recommended I watch this film, I had no idea this film was about that and that Nigeria could pull of the storyline as well as they did. But why wouldn’t they when they had a good script written by Kemi Adesoye and a fantastic cast starring Ramsey Nouah, Omoni Oboli, the director himself, Kunle Afolayan, and Lagbaja as the narrator. This film grossed over 30,000,000naira at the box office and was met with wide critical acclaim when it was released at Rotterdam International film festival in 2009. It went on to win multiple awards (5 out of its 10 nominations) at the 6thAfrican Movie Academy Awards organized also in 2009 - and was held in Gloryland Cultural centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State- including Best Achievement in Cinematography and Visual Effects and also Best Picture. The idea of basing the story around University friends going off to NYSC as well as life after National Youth Service Corps, gave the story an originality that allowed the actors transform on screen as multiple angles and timelines were shot. This movie reminded me of the kind of stories I like to write and inspired me to work harder on my supernatural thriller genre.

4. TV Dramas – Well, I couldn’t stop without mentioning a few TV dramas that made way for Nollywood industry which began to bloom in the 1990s with home videos like Living in Bondage, Sacobi the snake girl, etc. Without the likes of Hot cash - popular remembered as Willy Willy - (a supernatural suspense drama on a nephew whose aunty killed him in a ritual to make money and his spirit came back to haunt her till her demise), Village Headmaster (a comedy series about school life in post colonial era), Behind the Clouds (adrama series about a family and how they adjust to changes in life), Tales by Moonlight (a children’s program that brought folklore to life with drama), Ripples, New Village Masquerade, CheckMate, etc as well as recent TV series like Clinic Matters (a comedy series based on life working in a Nigerian hospital), Super story (a drama collection of different stories of happenings in Nigeria in form of fiction), Everyday People, Family Circle and so much more, Nollywood would never have come to be. These TV series exposed us to the talents and variety of genres that Nigerians embraced and made it possible for us to not view our movies as second rate products not worthy of purchase. Through these dramas, acting talents are discovered like Ego Boyo, Richard Mofe Damijo (aka RMD), Carol King, Ignis Ikwe, Ireti Doyle, Nkiruka ‘Kiki’ Omeli, and a few others.

There are many more great works out there and as I expose myself to them, I’ll keep you informed. I have a ton of writer/director friends who are doing amazing things in Nollywood and I can’t wait to tell their stories. The likes of Ejiro Onobrakpor who has taken his stage dramas to movie level with his hit movie, A Few Good Men starring Kate Henshaw, and created the TV show e-box inspiring; and Stanley Ohikhuare who has put his animation projects (like Lifespan – the tale of some Niger Delta Mosquitoes) on hold since 2007 *weeping* to become a household name in creating award winning short films like Loop, Verdict, Oblivious and the comedy skit, Horn-Free Day which right now has earned him 11 nominations in the upcoming African Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) 2014. Particular Kudos to the TV series (Tinsel, Dowry and Bachelors) created Victor Sanchez Aghahowa, as well as his internet web series #howsheleftmybrother, which proved that Nigerian writers are capable of producing so much more than we’ve enjoyed in the past. Even an old secondary school buddy who I used to party with back in the day, Jay-Franklin Jituboh, has done some remarkable work worthy of note like the movie, Caught starring upcoming actors like Tamara Isibor and Henry Ohikhuare (yes, Stanley’s younger brother) and IBK Spaceshipboi’s video, Loving you.

And last but not least, rising stars Xavier Ighorodje, writer of the documentary Will of Iron that won the Short Film Challenge and may get a chance to be shown at the Sundance film festival as well as the movie script Them and Us recently produced by themandus.vhx.tv; and also Greygon Avwokuruaye (who has worked with Entertainment Afrique and Amoeba 3), whose works are going to blow your mind. If you haven’t taken an interest in Nollywood, now’s a good time to start.