Finally!! - A Review of The Figurine.

Last weekend I watched the Kunle Afolayan thriller The Figurine and I must say that I am glad that I did. Those of you who know me well, know that I do not suffer Nollywood productions gladly. It takes a whole lot for me to sit through the first ten minutes of any Nollywood fare, because ten minutes is what I need to evaluate the film. However, I sometimes sit for longer if the film comes with a great recommendation by one whose opinions I respect or if the first ten minutes show some promise. With The Figurine it was a combination of the two. An added push was the marketing and publicity that followed the film’s release in 2009. So I decided to wait until it came out in DVD. I waited o for over two years, no luck; I then discovered that the distribution structure in place restricted the film’s DVD production, a move to forestall the activities of pirates.

However, I was lucky enough to view The Figurine as it hit cable TV on DStv. So it was with great anticipation that I watched The Figurine. 

First and foremost I must commend producer and director Mr. Afolayan who also starred in the joint lead role in The Figurine for a brilliant translation of Kemi Adesoye’s script. I say this because many a good script has been poorly executed by directors and producers. Excellent storytelling lies in carrying the audience along through the use of the right film techniques and tools. Right from the opening scenes, the cinematography of The Figurine impresses the viewer as something not readily seen in Nigerian films. With realistic sets (I now more than ever want a beach house!) and scenes, the accompanying visual effects were simple and very believable. Although the sound quality dropped at times during the film you get the distinct impression that Mr. Afolayan is aiming for a level of professionalism that leaves a lot of his other colleagues in the dust. The pacing is subtle, leading the viewer into an understanding of what is about to evolve in the scene. There is definitely no overacting!! One could be tempted to say that the acting was stilted but I believe this was deliberate. Indeed the cast is disciplined enough to leave out all the over-the-top acting, shouting, fake accents and face contortions that are all too familiar with Nollywood. I was particularly impressed by Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi’s acting as it was the first time I had seen her not overact! The screaming, eye rolling and “British” accent were pegged to a bare minimum.

Femi played brilliantly by Ramsey Nouah (despite the hideous wig) shows how bitterness and a sense of entitlement can insidiously eat away at a man over time. His sudden malevolence at the end of the film was quite a shocker and a huge contrast to the earlier picture of Femi as portrayed. Mr. Nouah I believe would play the role of a psycho quite convincingly. Mr. Afolayan’s bad boy/man Shola effectively reminded me of those school/classmates who were the so called "bad boys". Methinks he probably was one when he was younger. The Figurine also features veteran actor and artist, Muraina Oyelami as the culturally knowledgeable head of department. Omoni Oboli plays Mona, the girlfriend and later wife of Shola quite well, expressing the right amounts of emotion. Tosin Sido is a delight to watch as she plays Lara, Femi’s younger sister with a kind of vulnerability that her role demands. You take notice of her on a screen full of veterans. Speaking of veterans, can Jide Kosoko please stop acting the role of “chairman of the board”?!

But really, with respect to the characters, there is an absence of real development as the audience is left to fill in many gaps as to their true personalities. We are treated to a passing slice of their lives without getting really involved with them and their three-dimensionality. For instance, we know that Shola is a bad boy but just how bad we never really know. Mona herself loves Shola over Femi but again we never really know why and likewise Femi’s love for Mona is never fully delved into. Again, perhaps this was deliberate to make the twist impactful.  

In the end, much praise must be given to writer Kemi Adesoye, whose script and excellent twist at the end makes The Figurine a memorable film. The story is able to effectively blend traditional folklore, cultural systems and beliefs against a modern Nigeria backdrop. It could so easily have become a spiritual affair but Kemi ensures that it is one for the rational thinker with endless debates as to whether the curse was real or imagined. Yes, The Figurine is definitely one for the ages.

So kudos to Mr. Kunle Afolayan and his team for giving us a Nigerian film we can finally be proud of. The Figurine is definitely in my top five Nollywood films of all time.

PS: According to Wikipedia, The Figurine cost N50mm to make and he film received 10 nominations and won 5 awards at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2010, including the awards for Best Picture, Heart of Africa, AMAA Achievement in Cinematography and AMAA Achievement in Visual Effect.

Film Review: The Last Flight To Abuja: May Day!

On Friday, August 3, 2012 when my friend Atoke buzzed me to invite me to the premiere of the Nollywood movie The Last Flight To Abuja holding at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas I was a bit hesitant. You seeI am not a fan of Nigerian movies (there have been the odd few that I have really enjoyed.... Guilty Pleasures, Mortal Inheritance, Rattlesnake, Out of Bounds, Thunderbolt... to mention a few)...but since it was a chance to share a few laughs and hang out with a friend and see the movie at no real cost to me I decided to give it a go.

The pre-premiere opinion of the movie shared by quite a number of people was that the movie should not have been made and that it was rather insensitive of the makers of the film to “cash in” on the events of the fatal June 3 Dana Airways air crash. This impression was corrected by Mr. Alex Otti, MD/CEO of Diamond Bank the main sponsors of the movie at the premiere. The Last Flight To Abuja, written and directed by Obi Emelonye (The Mirror Boy), which was loosely based around the Bellview Airlines crash of 2006 had been in production for months and was scheduled for release when the Dana plane crashed -  a case of a very bad coincidence.

So I “crossed” my mind and decided to be as objective as possible as I watched the movie. And what can I say? Although it was a commendable attempt, The Last Flight To Abuja crashed both literally and figuratively! Now where do I begin? Armed with a good but cliché ridden and predictable plot and storyline, The Last Flight To Abuja would have been a good movie if it had had a good script and dialogue, any decent acting and passable video effects.

The dialogue was abysmal to say the least; the conversations were alternately stilted and rushed like they were in a race or something. And when did the word “some” become a definitive article? e.g. “Let’s watch some Titanic”, “You have some temperature”. This wrong usage was rife throughout the entire movie with no one finding it fit to correct it!

Wardrobe and realism as is with many of our Nollywood productions was questionable particularly the uniforms, couldn’t the producers get authentic pilot and police uniforms? What was with the plastic tape used to make the pilots’ stripes?  The pilot’s wife also did not have a wedding ring on as she spoke to him on the phone. Were tablets available for use in 2006? Just one air hostess/cabin crew member on a plane? Are we to believe that the airport’s control tower is just one room, closely resembling my BQ room at the university? And the CGI? Hmm, definitely not 2012 stuff, no scratch that, definitely not 2001 stuff!! And the realisation that a scene from another movie was used to depict the air crash scene!! Shame!

The acting? Ever present were the shifting accents and affectations that are more in line with stage performances. However, I did enjoy Hakeem Kae-Kazim’s acting as well as Jim Iyke’s (sorry o but for some funny reason I like his acting *big grin*). The pilots played by Anthony Monjaro and Celine Loader effectively portrayed the distress and panic that any pilot in their positions would feel. Everyone else? Average.

However, the movie was not all bad! I wholeheartedly welcomed and commended Obi Emelonye’s cinematography and use of non-linear sequencing in telling his story, reminiscent of Chris Nolan’s Memento (2000). It showed a certain amount of ambitiousness that I liked. However, the downside was that there were too many flashes between scenes alternating between Abuja and Lagos which was a bit disorienting. His attempt to tell a story from different points of view and perspectives of the characters where they all converge on the plane is also worthy of note. The sound and sound effects were not bad either and the score was very very good! I particularly liked the use of radio commentary featuring a few of our OAPs as background sound as it helped the scenes. There was plenty of comic relief especially by Hakeem Kae-Kazim and his wanna-be philanderer friend. So we had loads of good laughs.

In the end The Last Flight To Abuja is a good attempt but is still beset with the basic challenges to good film making in Nigeria – scripting, acting and realism. The movie might take off with you but I am not so sure of where it would land you. Enjoy!

NB: The Last Flight to Abuja is dedicated to the memories of those that lost their lives in the June 3, 2012 Dana Airways plane crash. Written and directed by Obi Emelonye, it stars Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Jim Iyke, Ali Nuhu, Uru Eke, Celine Loader, Anthony Manjaro and Jide Kosoko.