Given all the research that I’ve conducted so far in this project, Nigeria might have one the strangest film cultures of any country that I’ve ever delved into. According to most sources at one point it was producing more films than any other country in the world, apart from India, and yet some have pointed out that the industry was noted more for its quantity than its quality. Thus no matter how much I learned about films like Living in Bondage, The Wedding Party, or The Figurine, or became aware of directors like Tunde Kelani, Amaka Igwe, or Kenneth Gyang, at the end of the day I felt as if all I had ever really accomplished was to secure a very shallow, cursory knowledge of Nigerian cinema. I can’t escape the notion that beyond this introductory level of self-learning is a sub-culture so vast and so immense that I could easily get lost and never find my way out.
Even with its more recent trend of aiming for higher quality productions, accessing Nigerian cinema from aboard will leave you completely dependent on the Internet, with streaming options that range from corporate, fully licensed providers like NetFlix and Amazon Prime to … ‘other’ sites. In between these extremes of course lies YouTube where there appears to be a large number of Nigerian films that one can find. For the 2012 Obi Emelonye feature that I selected, I couldn’t find any evidence of it ever being shown in an American theaters and as for libraries, forget about it! The best option to watch this film is through NetFlix. Granted at one point in time cash strapped cinephiles were able to access this through YouTube thanks to IbakaTV, and I was able to take advantage of this. I even have to admit that the corporate logo that IbakaTV placed in the bottom right hand corner throughout the entirety of the film wasn’t as annoying as I thought it was going to be. The only problems that I had to deal with were the facts that I no longer had an internet connection in my residence and that there was a return of coronavirus lockdown measures. The combination of both issues forced me to park my car outside of a public library just so I could connect to their wi-fi network and then download the film from YouTube. Oh!, the things I had to do in 2020.
I must admit that what attracted me to this film was its basic premise, which generally is the only thing I’ll know about a film prior to watching it and the only thing from which I can form any real expectations for what I’ll eventually encounter. I went into this film with the notion that this might offer a more creatively structured narrative for which a series of intriguing, yet disconnected tales serendipitously intersect around a singular tragic event. The film certainly showed the potential to latch on to this idea and even to expand on it to delve into the severity of its central event. And yet I don’t think the film fully embraced this notion. Some of the minor story lines, like the elderly man who needed a medical operation, or the young association football phenom felt forced and arbitrarily inserted into the film. I didn’t feel as if there was a lot of thought that went into either.
The two main story lines however were far better developed and offered plenty to carry the film. In these story lines you had a decent level of complexity that included conflicting interests, strained and emotionally volatile relationships, some surprising courses of action, and the hint of nefarious criminal plotting. The film also managed to build these narratives around the minor theme of people trying to balance the time in their lives between their professional commitments and their interpersonal relationships. So there was a somewhat deeper message beyond these stories that was well integrated into the larger theme that broached the fragility of a person’s existence. The use of intercutting during the crash sequence beautifully aided in the development of this latter theme.
In regards to the narrative structure I was mildly annoyed with its use of flashback segments, some of which would track back to moments that were shown earlier in the film, giving it a troublesome aura of needless repetition. I also question the decision to tell Adesola’s story largely through flashback sequences while the other narratives where told in the natural build-up to the plane crash. This tactic easily gave away the notion that Adesola was involved in the criminal element long before this fact was actually revealed. Despite these inadequacies I still found the structure to be effective in dealing with the most difficult aspect of the narrative, that being how to stage multiple theaters of action that were occurring simultaneously. The non-linear structure made it possible to tell a deeper, more comprehensive story that contained plenty of character development and yet still maintained a brisk pace. Plus the flashback segments would still offer plenty of additional exposition to keep one engaged with the story.
For instance in the final flashback scene involving Adesola and Soibiffa we encounter an additional layer of intrigue to their criminal behavior that was legitimately surprising. Ultimately the real plot twist in the film wasn’t the identity of the criminal perpetrator (something for which the film conspicuously went out of its way to conceal), but rather the crime itself. And this particular twist was brilliantly designed and executed. There was a cleverness in embedding a well concealed twist within an easily detectable one. Also the lengthy exchange between the pilots allowed one to see the unfolding disaster from a completely different and fresh perspective. This segment also advanced the story beyond the point where it had been cut before which allowed for a smoother transition into its thrilling climax. Any complaints about the lack of forward progression or movement in the story are minor. For a film that clocked in at just over 74 minutes, this was one film that will not test your patience.
In fact some may argue that the pace of the film was a bit too fast. The editing was often very quick with succinct scenes that didn’t overstay their welcome and jump cutting that practically insisted on forward progression. There were times where I felt as if the film’s speed did a disservice to the continuity between the cuts. In the scene where Mr. Efe told his wife about his business trip, the cutting was a bit too quick after Angie brushed her husband aside. I also didn’t like the flow of information that was shown in the shots where David escaped from the plane. While this sequence is probably most criticized for its poor image quality, the arrangement of the shots themselves were also rather clumsy. While the editing was better during the film’s many montage segments, I still thought that there were a few sequences that could have been better constructed.
The overall camerawork itself however was still good, and the film managed to capture some really beautiful, artful shots. I liked the lengthy, spinning shot from the plane as it lifted off the ground in Lagos. Some of the shots in the Mr. Efe sequence were really well staged, especially the moment where he embraced Angie from behind in an attempt to ease her disappointment. Also while the pilot sequence was probably green screened, the numerous shots of the captain with the sunset in the background left an impression on me due to how eerie these images felt. Strangely this dusk lighting arrangement may have created the perfect ambiance for the impending disaster that was about to unfold.
As for the framing I saw a decent mix of intimate, personal framing (especially during the plane scenes which highlighted the cramped nature of the passenger cabin) with well staged establishing shots. This was clearly evident during the corporate meeting scene at the beginning of the film. Although I got the impression that the film favored tight, close-up framing a bit too much. Some of the more intimate shots were accompanied with camera movements that resembled the work of awkward, rank amateurs using a hand-held camcorder. Granted not all the camera movements were particularly unwieldy. During an exchange between David and Suzie, the camera chose to pan between each character instead of cutting the shot and the approach here for the most part worked. Also during the crash sequence the rapid camera movement and laser quick jump cutting was used to great effect to support the chaotic, panic-ridden nature of such moments. Even though many may pass this off as cliché, action movie stuff, it was still well executed.
The more intimate framing approach of course put more focus on the acting, which I felt was the true strength of the film. Hakeem Kae-Kazim gave one of the better performances in the film and early on made Adesola seem like a lively, ebullient personality in spite of his cheesy, ineffectual charm, which often would fail to impress. Kae-Kazim though was talented enough to play the role with some depth, effortlessly blending this aspect of the performance with a great capacity for dramatic gravitas. The nervousness and apprehension that he showed for his character’s past deeds was excellent even though I thought this element should have been conveyed a bit more consistently. For instance Kae-Kazim failed to make Adesola seem nervous when attempting to spoil David’s advances on Suzie which I didn’t understand, but that would be nitpicking.
Elsewhere among the cast, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde displayed a great deal of emotion in playing Suzie, a role that gave her a lot to work with. I thought she did a great job in showing her character’s sense of regret during her phone conversation with her fiancé Dan, and yet Jalade-Ekeinde was every bit as skillful when discovering his infidelity. In this scene the coyness in her line deliveries was wonderful as was the painful countenance that she expressed. Jalade-Ekeinde often showed great talent in capturing the small nuances of the character which can be seen in her sarcastic smile while on route back to the airport and her snarky reply to David regarding a men’s ad hoc conference. This latter line might suggest that the performers had some decent written material to work with, and at times they probably did, but generally I thought the dialogue was meager and pedestrian. It rarely rose above the level of tepid, casual small talk.
As for the other performers, Jennifer Oguzie injected a great deal of spirit and personality into the role of Yolanda. I thought her physical acting was really good, especially when playing off of Kae-Kazim which contributed to the film’s charm. But apart from Oguzie’s performance I was largely underwhelmed by the supporting cast.
Prior to the airplane scenes Jim Iyke barely had much of a presence in the film in the role of David. When he eventually did get some significant screen time, the character was played as a meek, somewhat aloof corporate executive. Iyke didn’t inject a lot of energy into the role, with the possible of exception of his key scene with Kae-Kazim during the plane crash. In the role of Chief Nike, Jide Kosoko was so consistent in delivering his lines with the same monotone, meticulous cadence that I regarded his performance as rather bland. I could almost say the same thing about Omalicha Iyasara’s performance as Soibiffa, but at least here I could sense a concerted effort to add some intrigue to the role. Uche Odoputa as Mr. Efe showed some good emotion in the scenes with his character’s wife (played by Chidera Orji who did some fine work here as well) but apart from this, the portrayal was not particularly noteworthy. It also didn’t help that Odoputa rarely appeared in the last 40 minutes of the film. I’m also not quite sure what to make of Anthony Monjard and Celine Loader during their friendly chit-chat in the cockpit. I could understand the desire to try and broaden the portrayal of both characters a bit, but the resulting sequence wasn’t particularly interesting. Both performers did their best work during the tense drama of the crash itself and even here it was only mildly engaging.
While the film may have its rough edges here and there, I still found it entertaining with some strong acting performances and a complex, well developed narrative that progressed towards an exciting climax with great pace. It was interesting in spite of its mediocrity.