Movie Review: Lost Maiden 1, 2 &3

Title: Lost Maiden

Starring: Omotola Jolade Ekeinde, Bimbo Akintola, Kalu Ikeagwu, Chisom Oz-Lee, Halima Abubaker, Ngozi Ezeonu

Screenplay: Chisom Oz-Lee, Abigail Anaba, Emem Isong

Director: Moses Inwang

Producer: Chisom Oz-Lee

Year: 2009

Country: Nigeria

Genre: Drama

Language: English

Synopsis: After an opening scene of a little girl wandering around in what appears to be some kind of dreamland (no worries, all is explained by the end of the movie), the movie moves on to a scene with a panel of experts arguing over the merits or demerits of female circumcision. This movie tells two stories – one is kind of a short film detailing the experience of two sisters in a village – Maria (acted by Blessing Kalu ) and her sister Eno (Halimat Abubaker) being forced to undergo female circumcision as part of the coming of age and preparation for marriage rites. This story is narrated by one of the experts on the panel. The larger story of the movie involves the return of Dr. April Jodi (Chisom Oz-Lee) to Nigeria. Dr. Jodi graduated from a medical school in America and has decided to do her residency in Nigeria. Initially planning to work in a more elitist hospital, she happens to catch the panel on female circumcision on TV and decides to work in Calsy hospital in Umari village. There she meets Dr. Phil (Kalu Ik) and his girlfriend (Omotola). In addition, she makes friends with a reporter (Bimbo Akintola) assigned to investigate the story of an anti-circumcision priest who suddenly met with some adverse circumstances. When Dr. Jodi decides to join in the fight against “tradition”, things get really interesting.

Trailer:






Review:
Positives: It took me a while to dig out the movie and watch it after buying it. I expected it to be preachy, boring, linear, predictable. How wrong I was. I loooved it. LOOOOVED IT. Outstanding effort to deal with a pertinent social issue without being overly preachy.

What did I like?

First of all the village scenes, especially at the beginning - excellent. I don't think even oyinbos could have done it any better. Very realistic, very welldone.

The dialogue: Was logical, flowing, actually intelligent in places! Very nicely done. Somebody gave the screenplay some thought, instead of just throwing crap together on screen.

The casting: Mostly spot on. Kalu and Omot? So cute together. Kalu is just so suave. That is the word – suave. Played the doctor role beautifully. And the scenes with Omot – I liked their chemistry.. Omot, girlfriend delivered as always. The delectable Bimbo A. played a reporter in this movie. She played it with panache. In fact, somebody really worked hard to fill in al the roles here – round peg in round holes -from king to mother to uncle to chiefs to everybody. Excellent casting!

The acting: Mostly top notch. Kalu, Omot, Madam Hannah (Cassandra Odita), Chief Amadi (Ken Odurukwe), Halima Abubakar – fabulous acting. Completely real.

Even the hospital scenes! I hate hospital scenes in Naija movies. HATE THEM. But in this one, the hospital scenes were sooooo good. Believable. The terminology was mostly spot on. The setting was realistic. I was like woohooooo! Das warram talking about. Okay, fine: actual doctors may complain about some of the hospital scenes, but compared to what we usually see in Naija movies, this is on another level completely. What!! They actually tried to get the terminology right? Round of applause!

And the ending - predictable until the end. Then wosai!!! I did not see that coming at all At first, I was like, this ending sef, how could they make the ending of such a good film so boring? Boy, did they surprise me! I actually applauded at the end. That is how impressed I was.

And technically, a very high quality production. Sound was very good, picture quality, camera work, Nice!

Negatives:
The weak link was Dr April (Ms. Chisom herself). Here is the thing - She was the producer for this movie, and it felt like a vanity project to me. She cast herself in the lead, and was front and center in the movie. And she wasn't horrible. There were times when she was actually watchable, particularly when she had to give medical related lectures. She is a medical person (a nurse in real life), and it was clear that she know her stuff in that regard. Problem was, everybody else was sooo much better than her. Everybody! And she had this big hair that I found it very, very distracting. The other weak link, though he was not there for too long, was the museum curator. Daang! The dude was baaddd (and not in a good way, LOL)!!
I also wish they could have done without some of the falling in love. There was no chemistry for one particular couple (one half of that couple being Dr. April). That was not necessary. At all. It ended up trivializing some of the story to me.

And yes the three part thing, that was annoying too, considering that each part was just about an hour each. I think they do that primarily for the Nigerian market, where they sell each vcd disk separately. For me though, it did not make much difference. All three parts are on one dvd.

Underlying theme/lessons/worldview/philosophy: While our history and culture are very important aspects of our lives, some practices have outlived their usefulness and need to be changed. However, getting people who are committed to a certain way of life to change is a difficult and complicated process. And as we see from this movie, some people will never change their minds, no matter how much evidence they are presented with. I believe this movie did an excellent job of presenting both the opportunities and difficulties associated with this process of change.

Bottomline:
The story was actually quite creative - educational and entertaining, which is quite a feat because in many Naija films, those concepts tend to be mutually exclusive.I really enjoyed it. It was able to catch and keep my attention from start to finish. I found it well thought out, well planned, well casted, well acted (in general). Highly recommended! Just for that ending alone - For surprising me!


Rating: 8.5/10

More reviews here and here.

Availability: Bought my copy here, but check all three.

ps: If you are curious about the producer Chisom Oz-Lee and her other projects, you can check her website and this interview for more information about her. I do hope that she listens to the voice of the people and stays behind the camera though. She has good film instincts, she is just not a good actress.

Movie Review: Distance between

Title: Distance between

Starring: Rita Dominic, Mercy Johnson, Yemi Blaq, Kalu Ikeagwu

Producers: Remi Ibinola and Memry Savannu Ayotunde

Director: Izu Ojukwu
















Year of production: 2008

Country: Nigeria

Genre: Drama/Romance

Language: English

Trailer: Could not find one. If anyone knows where I can find a trailer online, please let me know and I will update the post.

Summary/synopsis: Rita Dominic is Preye, while Mercy Johnson plays her best friend (Mosun). Right from the onset, it is clear that Preye has many issues – she is extremely promiscuous, and we soon learn that she is acting out due to sexual abuse she suffered as a child. Akin (played by Yemi Blaq) is her long suffering boyfriend. While Mosun appears to be extremely responsible, hardworking, and faithful to her friend, she is wrestling with demons too. She was also abused as a child, and in contrast to her friend, is turned off men. Kalu Ikeagwu plays an advert executive (Ike). Preye runs into him while she is hawking a show she wants to put on the air and they promptly hook up. It all gets very complicated and very emotional very fast.

REVIEW
Positives: I love Izu Ojukwu. He is officially one of my favorite Nollywood directors. What a movie. WHAT A MOVIE!! This movie is sexy, complex, deep, accessible, nuanced. It is not simplistic, its not linear, but its very logical. Gets you right in the gut! The main cast outdid themselves on this one. I have always loved all the four of the main actors, but this is by far the best work for all of them. Fantastic acting. Tremendous! Rita, as Preye was just sterling. She was promiscuous and vulnerable all at the same time. And Mercy Johnsohn, what an actress. This role has finally begun to live up to her talent. She was tremendous as the frigid, yet loyal friend. Kalu was sexy as always, and Yemi Blaq – his character was so complicated, so conflicted, so human, so frail - just beautiful to watch!

The flashbacks were so beautiful, dripping with meaning, even if much was not said. The girls who played the young Preye and Mosun were very good actresses. And even if the dressing did not fit the period, it was shot in such a way that it looked and felt like the distant past. You were afraid with them as they faced their molesters. You felt their pain. Most of the supporting cast was excellent as well. I just loved it. And it was totally unpredictable. Totally. Some things happened and I was like - what? Really? Wow! What is gonna happen next?

One more thing though: There is a slowness and deliberateness about Izu's movies that may not play well with many Naija movie lovers. I think many people watch the movie for the drama, the confrontation, the theatrical nature of our productions. This is more restrained. It’s a whole different feel, but I was loving it all the way. It’s funny that I have just watched a mini soap by Izu Ojukwu, and I feel like I have watched something really deep and important. You can feel the intelligence in the crafting of this one.

Negatives: There were some problems with the sound editing, at least in my copy, but it did not ruin it. The weak link among the actors was Kalu's fiancé in the movie. She was trying too hard to be the high society girlfriend and it did not flow naturally.

The major flaw, I think, is that they wimped out at the end. The ending was too anticlimactic, too easy. I was actually disappointed by it. I wanted a little more meat and bones on that ending. You don't build that kind of suspense and then end it like that now! Ah!!

And then there were too many questions unanswered - and a few subplots that were not followed through. Of all of them though, the one that bothered me the most was that the core issue of sexual abuse was never really dealt with. I don't want to reveal the story, but there was no real confrontation or resolution there. That could have been fleshed out a little more. Or perhaps another movie? I cannot think of too many Nigerian movies that left me wanting more, but this one did. Also it’s not a movie for kids. There is a lot of bed hopping – premarital, extra marital, casual sex, one night stands. However, the whole idea is not to glorify any of those things – at least not deliberately. The movie shows that difficult situations ensue when human beings indulge in complicated sexual activities.

Lessons/worldview/philosophy: This movie brings some very complicated issues to light – the limits of friendship, marital fidelity, the role of family in crisis, etc. The most important issue raised though, is the complex nature of child abuse and its consequences. Anybody conversant with abuse will tell you that the effects go way beyond the immediate act itself. If care is not taken, a child abuser can take not just the child’s present, but their future as well. We don’t like to talk about these things in our society. We like to pretend that they don’t happen. We ignore the broken people in our midst and pretend that their pain does not exist. Well you know what happens with broken people? They tend to cut – and it hurts.

Rating: 9.5/10. Just outstanding stuff.

More reviews here and here


Availability: I bought my copy here.
You may want to call them and find a copy. But check all possible sources.

Movie Review: For Real

Title: For real

Starring: Dakore Egbuson, Eucharia Anunobi, Desmond Elliot, Kalu ikeagwu, Justus Esiri, Remi Abiola, Ekwi Owuneme

Producer(s): Emem Isong

Director: Aquilla Njamah

Year of production: 2005

Country: Nigeria

Genre: Drama/Romance

Language: English


Preamble: First let me admit that I came upon this one by accident. I stumbled on it one day when I was slacking off. I was going to ignore it, but then I checked it out and it appeared to have garnered rave reviews, though I had never seen it, or even heard of it. So I watched it. Holy Moly!! FA BU LOUS. One of my very favorite Nigerian movies ever! EVER! It was engaging, interesting, intriguing, realistic, very well done. I dropped everything I was doing, and could not stop watching. It sucked me right in.


Trailer:


Summary: Eucharia Anunobi plays Divine, a widowed mother of one, and she is in Abuja on business. There she meets David Salako (played by Kalu), a much younger man who persistently pursues her. She gives in after some objections (and some alcohol), and they have a one night stand. He leaves her his number but she decides never to see him again. She has no interest in keeping it going. All she wanted to do was scratch her itch and live out some fantasies. After she returns to Lagos where she is based, her son (played by Desmond Elliot) comes home with his fiancée (Ekwi) from the UK, She has a party to celebrate his graduation and his intended nuptials, and meet his friends. She has the shock of her life when her son’s best friend turns out to be someone she has met before. Things become very, very interesting.

Review
Positives: Please do not be put off by the really bad title. It does this great work no justice at all. I would have called this one the Couger, or Old Wine (better with age), or something like that. Looks like someone just pulled the title out of their nose “For Real”!! Having said that though, this was Kalu’s first movie (as he states here ), and that is darned impressive! Boy did he act the living daylights out of this role. What talent, what swagger, what charm! Two thumbs way up for this role. In fact, everyone impressed me. Eucharia was fantastic as the cougar struggling with the social ramifications of loving a young buck, Desmond was fierce as the overprotective son, Dakore was fabulous as David’s fiancé, and Ekwi was just so pretty as Angela, Divine’s daughter-in-law to be. The casting for this movie was almost perfect. I especially loved Mrs Remi Abiola (RIP) in the role of Mrs Salako, looking out for her son. When her big scene came up, I paid attention. She was regal, and angry, and she worked it. This movie – it was great!! I did not use the fast forward button once on this movie. Not once. No wasted scenes. Even the “I love you” toritese (head and leg) scenes were bearable.

Negatives: The weak link was the guy who was chasing after Dakore’s character. First of all, he was so not necessary to the development of the story. Second of all, the guy cannot act to save his life, his diction was bad, and I just could not figure out what he was doing in there! Also, they spent a lot of time talking about David buying a car, and then you finally see the car and you are like – really? That’s it? Blah!! Of course, as in many Nigerian movies, you had to do the volume thing – turn it up for conversations, turn it down when someone was shouting. And the picture quality could have been better.

Lessons/Worldview: I love this movie, I will not lie. It is so well done. I have watched it several times, and I just loved it more and more each time!! I would not claim that it teaches any deep life changing lessons – except to provide yet another argument against indiscriminate sex!! – But it does lead to interesting questions about Cougar relationships. So we expect that in relationships, the man be older than the woman, or they be close in age, at least in the African context. When the woman is much older, is it unbearable? When is an age difference too much? Or does it really depend on the individuals involved? Is love enough in non traditional relationships? This issue is discussed in more detail here

Other reviews of this movie can be found here

RATING: 8/10

AVAILABILITY: Unfortunately, I don’t know where you can get an original copy of this movie in the diaspora. I apologise. I hype it so much and it is unavailable. Your options are either you buy a copy in Nigeria (if you can), or you can call and ask any of the big three if they have it. Sorry.