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Reviews
October 1 (2014)
Carries a rare sense of pensive cognizance and further provokes reflection on the part of its target audience.
Kunle Afolayan's October 1 serves us poignant paradox of how far we have come but, tellingly, how rooted we are to the murky leech infested waters of colonialism of whence. Afolayan's film uses a latter-day colonial setting as a canvas for a mystery of violence that engulfs a small town in the month preceding the end of British occupation.
The script by Tunde Babalola is a tremendous novelty as much as it is an indictment. This is the most poignant and only Pan-African film I've seen make rounds. It is gushing with the detail and art design of whence from the quaint highlife tunes to 60s apparel and the chilling totems of British occupation. We find haughty British officials, the sharp contrast of the Union Jack flying over the green environs and indigenes along with the prominent standing of the Queen some thousand miles away from Buckingham. Never has the seemingly innocuous portrait of Queen Elizabeth conveyed such weight filmed with overbearing intimidation. A chunk of the setting bears eerily similarity to contemporary society. On the one hand we recognize the ostensive timelessness of how culture is projected by song, dance, beliefs etc. On the other hand we recognise a culture of education that remains steadfast to the neglect and dysfunction of pre-independence. The only thing that has changed is the national anthem.
There is a middle ground, an ambivalence, found in the people we encounter with regards to points of communication, religion and identity. The film is well aware of this ambivalence and the fact of it being the only real change brought on by colonial occupation and subsequent liberation to mostly negative consequences. The central setting of Akote typifies this in that it is a trading post and the meeting points of culture, ethnicity, religion etc. I say mostly negative but we are treated to scenes in a bar owned by an albino serving men and women, northerners and southerners, Igbo and Yoruba. This diversity goes to serve as a conduit of tension as the film unravels fuelling a sense of cynicism brought on by one of the film's characters in response to Nigeria's independence. Afolayan isn't as subtle as he could be in this regard getting a little too preachy but a chilling sense of poignancy lingers. Hindsight is crystal – almost a crystal ball taking into consideration the pathology left behind by the bane of Western occupation.
I have rambled on about Afolayan's world building but there is a thread here: Police inspector Danladi Waziri (Sadiq Daba) is dispatched to Akote in Western Nigeria to investigate a couple of murders by his British superior (Nick Rhys). Independence is a month away and the British would rather no major cases remain on file when the baton is passed. Virgin ladies are being raped, strangled and left with peculiar markings which leads to suspicions of a serial killer in this small rural community. More bodies drop confirming this assessment. The film is well plotted like a conventional whodunit. Waziri arrives in Akote, asks a lot of questions and does some investigating with the local Sergeant Sunday Afonja (Kayode Aderupoko) at his side. The camera gets to look suspiciously at people and throw some red herrings our way but the film shows its hand towards the final act and positions itself as an exploration of the rot at the crux of the murders.
The detail may have suggested an overly serious tone but affairs here almost mirror the jolly simplicity of life on the country side. I was reminded of Fargo. There are no cool looking inspectors trying crack the case. Waziri doesn't carry an intellectual swagger with a smoking pipe in hand. He sports the standard baggy uniform (with shorts) over his old skinny frail body and rides around on a "buzanga Volvo". Much like the heavily pregnant Marge Gunderson in Fargo, don't let the surface get in the way. Waziri knows his police work. He comes to Akote with a reputation of closing a high profile murder involving a British man, of course – I did say high profile. Daba plays Waziri well managing to project some authority through this seemingly unassuming persona. A look into Waziri's eyes and we can tell he's been around the block. We can also sense some weariness and guilt. Perhaps Afolyan uses him to project a spirit of neo-colonialism.
Waziri doesn't speak the native tongue hear relies on interpretation from Afonja – almost like a British man. He is all about due process willing to overstep sacred instructions and culture of this society in the name of the law. There is subtle but disquieting naiveté at work in his character. The most excruciating moment sees him impose authority on a restless mob in the name of the Queen with Nigeria all but independent. More depth can be found in the character of Prince Aderopo played by the smooth Demola Adedoyin (who probably leads this film under a lesser director). He is always clad in white as the film plays out. His initial scenes have him returning as Akote's first ever graduate of the full western education system. Later on he dances to (what sounded like) western music playing on his gramophone. The excitement of Independence beckons but Aderopo looks to more time in the West pursuing a Master's degree and he doesn't have nice things to say about Nigeria's future as a sovereign state.
Whilst October 1 is gushing with rich detail it is not without its flaws. The film starts to lag in the final act as the testing running time becomes apparent. Redundant flashbacks and exposition feature and a little more confidence in the audience would not have been remiss. There is still a tremendous amount to behold – character depth, nuance and subtext oozing out of the script, stellar cinematic DP work and Afolayan's strong vision.
Silver Rain (2015)
Juliet Asante has potential and looks to tell a very Ghanaian story with significant themes and ideas but ultimately one too many.
Juliet Asante's big screen directorial debut comes with raised expectations with the film's trailer even tagging Jocelyn Dumas performance as the best of her budding film career so far. All hype of course but I was intrigued by this film which aspired to some level Ghanaian realism lacking in a lot of mainstream Ghanaian cinema.
Silver Rain is set on the streets of Accra and for a while it tries to give us an entree into the life and culture of the Kayayo that litter the streets. Asante presents some level of nuance as we witness the politics that affects them in addition to penury that comes with living hand to mouth in the troughs of Ghana. She employs a documentary style vox pop effect that picks the brain of some citizen who acknowledge the usefulness of the kayaye who carry around market produce for pocket change and others who regard them filth lying around waiting to be cleaned up by the government. There is some poignancy in focusing on the kayaye and the political capital they hold during election season. The party that promises to protect them and keep them on the street gets their vote whilst on the other hand there is some political expediency in promising to get rid of them. Our director here doesn't shy away from giving us a feel of life on the streets and the smut of the insides of the market and for a short while she succeeds in getting some of us to mull over the kayaye culture.
We then get personal with Ajoa (Dumas), one the porter girls living hand to mouth on the streets of Accra. She is well liked and well integrated on the streets and her defiance is well admired as stands up for her friend and demands more from a thrifty patron of their services who tries to hustle them of some change. She is a bit of an irregularity in that regard and you get the sense she is used to a bit more as the camera narrows in on her capturing the solitude and anomaly she is as she reads a book and generally regards them as more important than money to the snickers of her peers. I suspect Dumas here will be the butt of some jokes not because she gives a bad performance but because she the one Kayaye that will stand a chance of winning a Miss Ghana pageant. There is also the skin tone debacle as she is made to look considerably darker presumably to emphasise the depths of society which brings us to the films transition in tone.
The class stratum in Ghanaian society comes to the fore when Ajoa crosses paths with Bruce (Enyinna Nwigwe) a young man who is a world away from the humble kayaye roots. He is the wealthy heir to the Timothy family fortunes the perceived relationship they develop produces friction especially from his Mother played by Offie Kodjoe who just wants her son to find a wife she approves of. His mother initially seems like she wants the best for her son and dresses down his girlfriend whom she perceives to be nothing more than a gold digger but with Ajoa in the picture, we realise she may be more interested in her son sticking with the class he belongs. Bruce's character presents some hints of depth in that he reflects the marital pressures binding men in what feels like a what progressives may deem a throwback to the 90's. His mother makes no secret of her desire to see him find a wife and his father (Kofi Bucknor) initially seems like he has an apathetic disposition to his son's affairs but slowly starts to screw on the pressure and eventually drops the hammer with marriage ultimatum to his son.
The question, from an audience, may then become: why is marriage so important? It is points like this that bring to the fore the biggest problem with the film – there appears to be so much going on and film isn't able to nail a definite tone or adopt a single focus. We start the Kayaye culture and politics that comes with it in the midst of an election then we move on to the class disconnect and in the background Bruce has the weight of his parents' wishes on his shoulders. Then of course we have the relationship between Bruce and Ajoa that is made more complex by Frank (Chumani Pan), Bruce's close friend. full review: https://thebrokencliche.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/film-review-silver- rain/