Afamefuna tells the story of a successful businessman who is questioned by the police after the death of his friend with whom he went through the Igbo apprenticeship system (nwa boi) under the guidance of Odogwu. We watch their friendship unfold, peak at brotherhood and take a nose-dive through the protagonist’s point of view. The story begins as an inverted narrative and then, somewhere during the police interview, you get the impression of “begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop” and so I settled in for a good watch. Here’s my review and discussions on some spoilers, mind!
Overall, the movie left a smile on my face. It is a feel good, easy to follow movie with very relatable moments. The majority of the dialogue is in Igbo and the subtitles are accurate (save, perhaps, for the time when 60 x 60 tiles were subtitled as 60 feet x 60 feet and not 60cm x 60cm!). The storytelling went straight to the point. For example, there were no unnecessary flashbacks and soliloquys.
The title of the movie highlights the Nwa boi system and the movie delivers on giving its audience more than a glimpse into how the system works without belabouring it. I applaud that. I think the story was told well enough to give us the end result we got. It was written by Adaora Anyanwu and directed by Kayode Kasum and this combination shows that a good story is a good story. My first and general impression was “not bad at all” and I smiled as I practiced my dancing to the flute music (if there is a name for it, please forgive me because I don’t know it).
Let’s talk performances. Kanayo O. Kanayo as Odogwu and Onye Isi was spot on. SPOT ON. As would be expected from a veteran Nollywood actor. He was always a good actor and I enjoyed his movies growing up. He brought it for me. I give his performance a 10 10 10 across the board. Stan Nze did a fantastic job as Afamefuna. Stan is good. Paul Nnadiekwe’s portrayal of Young Afam was a stellar performance. He made his debut well. My favourite character was Alexx Ekubo as Adult Paulo. Alex really impressed me in this role. He wasn’t just a fine boy in this movie. He did a fantastic job and has earned my respect as a Nollywood actor. The evolution of the characters seemed very accurate. The feud between Afam and Paulo did not feel at all farfetched. Emotions were portrayed with finesse. The nuances of complex relationships were represented- Afam’s desire to save his relationship with Paulo and then his anger, Paulo’s sly, Amaka’s sorrow (more on that later) were tastefully done. The actors did a fine job. Chuks Joseph (who played Obum) is gradually creating a niche for himself with great performances in Dark October ( as Tizzy) and in Madame Koi-Koi (Lashe).
However, the film’s portrayal of Igbo culture was a let down. It did not thoroughly capture the colours and sounds of an Igbo celebration in the party scenes. Stan Nze did his best but one person cannot carry a celebration scene. As far as cinematography goes, I was not impressed. In fact, it did not exist. They did make an effort but the movie did not capture the dynamism, the drama, the colours, the sounds of Lagos city life or Igbo joy. Even the market scenes were a let down. Visually, it tanked. If the intention was a feel good movie, then the director and producers hit the nail on the head. That said, my impression was that it turned out to be a feel good movie along the way because of its underdeveloped plot. This hurts because it is a plot simmering with potential. So much could have been done with this plot. Afam and Paulo’s relationship turning sour was very tastefully done and I think that feud could have been explored further and the result would have been much richer content.
Imagine this: a feud between two Igbo businessmen who both feel they are on the side of truth and righteousness and have been wronged. Paulo feeling robbed by Afam and Afam hating the punishment Paulo exacts. A story like that would not have needed a romantic interest in the same woman. Whilst I understand the necessity of and the well-roundedness a romantic interest brings to a story, I believe that the plot was already quite rich without it.
Secondly, couldn’t we find a Hausa actor to play the policeman? Segun Arinze’s accent did not work at all. That’s all I’ll say about it. Also, there is no way a businessman of that calibre will allow a police officer record an interview without his lawyer present. I understand it wasn’t in the script but that was completely unrealistic. We could have still gotten the story in that setting with a lawyer present or at least contacted. I’ll even take mentioned at this point.
The lack of a strong female character in this movie was disappointing. Amaka’s character played by Atlanta Bridget Johnson was a let down. I found it weird that the two men she was involved with were both her father’s apprentices. She seemed like a young woman who grew up, left home and was going to make something of herself. Instead, she came back home to date the same apprentice who had fallen out with her dad and made her steal his money and then married the second apprentice. What a weak character.
The scene where Afam reveals to Amaka he knows the true paternity of their child was another miss. A woman knows when there are questions around the paternity of her child. Even if she doesn’t know who the father is, she would know that there is possibility the child could be belong to 1 of 2 or more men. The scene was acted very well but it was unrealistic and a hot miss.
There are a few bits and pieces where attention to detail was lacking. I’ll name two:-
- When the movie starts and you see the title: Afamefuna: An Nwa- boi story. Why does it begin with a grammatical error? Insert crying emoji here.
- The blue wallpaper scene. A woman has been given the wrong item, comes back to the market to return it and doesn’t check the new one they give her before she leaves? Grown women don’t shop like that. A few seconds for her to confirm the wallpaper is the one she wanted would have put this to bed.
Overall, the movie did leave a smile on my face. Good story, impressive casting, great performances, an okay script- I still think it didn’t reach its full potential. That said, not averse to watching it again.
Thank you for reading.
The review didn’t say how long the movie was. Nollywood movies are notorious for being longer than they need to be. Most often, shortening them removes the parts of the movie they could do without, making them tighter, less dumbed down for audiences, and generally cleverer (aesthetically more masterful) from a storytelling standpoint. So, I googled the movie’s length and found it to be 2 hours and 2 minutes. That, for me, is too long. But I know that it might not be, regardless. The movie may have made good use of its running time, cut out unnecessary dialogues, and shortened lengthy scenes, like showing a vehicle driving into a compound before a character gets out and enters the house, and it could still be that long. I will have to watch the movie and see. I was particularly impressed by the movie’s high rating on IMDb. I’m encouraged by the positive reviews on this post and the rating I saw on IMDb (which I hardly ever see for any movie, Nollywood or not) to give this movie a shot.