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History And Literary Concepts: A Review Of Elesin Oba (The King’s Horseman)

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A review of Elesin Oba (The King’s Horseman)

Elesin Oba, a play by the award winning poet, playwright and novelist, Wole Soyinka was adapted into a movie by the ever graceful Mo Abudu and it was directed by the late Biyi Bandele. Being a stage play, adapting it into a movie is an herculean task because the play was written originally by a man who is so versed in concepts of literature and so immersed in theories of play. Elesin Oba is a true life story, so in order to get the true story about the movie, we have to tell a background story/history about it.

Background To The Story

Alaafin of Oyo, Siyanbolu Ladigbolu reigned between 1911-1914, following his death, a ritual was to be performed so that the deceased king can meet his ancestors safely. Elesin Oba who was the King’s right hand man must be killed alongside the King because according to the Yoruba culture, the Elesin Oba must be buried with the king in order to serve him in the beyond.

Unfortunately, the British Officer who were naïve to this culture went out and arrested the Elesin Oba and threw him into jail because according to the British Law, attempted suicide is a criminal offence and they do not want the Elesin Oba to kill himself.

Movie Review

The movie speaks about the influence that the British had on African culture, Elesin Oba knowing fully well that he would be killed to accompany the King started wasting time on different things; womanizing and all sort of frivolities.

During his supposed last days on earth,  his eyes come across a beautiful virgin lady. Smitten by her beauty, he makes his intention to marry her known and thereafter went ahead to enjoy a blissful night with the virgin lady.

Delaying the whole village of impending abomination, a white district officer,  Simon Pilkings, a provincial officer who is made aware of the ritual suicide by a police officer, Amusan. Appalled at such “crude” practices, he decides to stop them. So, he arrested Elesin before his soul could depart for the afterlife.

Languishing in jail, the much feared abomination happened and Elesin Oba, a character played by Odunlade Adekola regretted his actions and the shame he brought upon his village. The abomination is such that the dead king will not be allowed to enter into the throne room with his ancestors in heaven without his Elesin.

It is a proper work of literary concepts and history.

8/10.

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Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Femi Adebayo Beats His Own Record With Jagun Jagun (The Warrior)

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Femi Adebayo Jagun Jagun review

The most-talked-about movie right now in Nigeria is Jagun Jagun (The Warrior) by Nollywood actor-producer Femi Adebayo. Read on to see my review of the movie, released Thursday, August 10, exclusively on Netflix.

The Synopsis

Centered on betrayal, envy, struggle, love, and pain, Jagun Jagun tells the story of a courageous young man named Gbotija who has lost his beloved father to some group of invaders and resolves to avenge him by learning the ‘work of war’ under a notorious warlord called Ogundiji. The army Ogundiji commands is very gritty, and Ogundiji himself is a powerful fighting instrument used by influential men to destroy their antagonists.

Soon after Gbotija gets to Ogundiji’s camp, and joins his army, he meets the beautiful Kitan, and both of them fall in love. Gbotija is so brave and strong that he stands out in Ogundiji’s army in a short period of time. His fast-rising popularity piques the attention of his master, Ogundiji, who cannot stand an ‘ordinary soldier’ receiving praises under his watch.

Therefore, he puts Gbotija to a series of dangerous tests in order to get him killed, like facing Gbogunmi in a combat. It’s during the tests that his lover, Kitan, loses her life and he finds out Ogundiji is the one he has been seeking to take revenge on.

The Review

Femi Adebayo is changing the narratives about Nollywood, and turning it into an industry that Nigerians can be proud of and one that can compete with the best in the world. He has found a way to tell African stories, particularly Yoruba stories, in a way that resonates with the people—even those who are not of the culture.

His previous movie Agesinkole (King of Thieves) was such a great one that it seemed to people, including myself, that there wouldn’t be another Femi Adebayo’s movie greater than it. He himself was evidently aware of this burdensome esteem in which viewers held, and many still hold, Ageshinkole when, in his first social media post introducing Jagun Jagun, he stated: The dream was to surpass Agesinkole in every ramification. It almost seemed impossible because people kept asking ‘what else could be bigger than Ageshinkole’?

As a producer, Femi Adebayo is in his own league, on a different creativity level; and he, clearly, should not be compared! Don’t take this as meaning his works are perfect, without any flaws. No work of art, as the popular saying goes, is perfect. But, I must point out here, Jagun Jagun’s possible flaws are overshadowed by its storyline, educative, informing, entertaining, but also emotive; by its star-studded cast who masterfully protray their characters; and by its cinematography that’s nothing like I have seen in Nollywood before. If it is safe to say, Femi Adebayo has beaten his own record!

The script is fascinating; the story is straightforward, with great lessons taught; the acting is a master class, as expected of a movie with some of the best in the industry; the effect is virtuosic; and the stunts are top notch. This is a movie you want to see, I assure you.

I give it a 9/10 rating.

The Cast (Main Characters)

Femi Adebayo – Ogundiji

Lateef Adedimeji – Gbotija

Bukunmi Oluwashina – Kitan

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Ibrahim Yekini Itele – Gbogunmi

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Movie Reviews

Shanty Town Review: A Tale Of Crime, Deceit And Dark Politicking

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Shanty Town Review: A Tale Of Crime, Deceit And Dark Politicking

Shanty Town: A Tale Of Politics, Crime And Deceit

The series starts at a brisk speed and from a powerful position, establishing tension from the opening scenes. We see a ghetto or community being overrun by gunmen; smashing people’s head, shooting sporadically with no mercy while an odd upbeat war song play in the background.

Shanty Town is about a group of female sex workers (Mercy Eke, Nancy Isime and others) who are trying to escape the slum of the Shanty Town in Lagos, where they are subjected to the brutal rule of a kingpin named Scar (Chidi Mokeme). Scar, though, won’t give the girls up so easily as they are part of his money making machine.

Just like the ladies, Scar is not a free man. Scar is subservient to Chief Fernandez (Richard Mofe-Damijo), a wealthy politician whose run for governor necessitates the suspension of some of their unlawful activities. And if that weren’t enough, Scar also has to deal with Dame Dakota (Shaffy Bello). And she’d like to be governor, too. So, using the Chief’s own son, Femi (Mr P), as bait, she forces Scar to join her in bringing down the Chief.

Shanty Town tells a story about human nature by weaving a story of lies and deceit within a story of crime and romance. It shows the Nigeria political scene and many wild things happening underground.

The series makes use of good cinematography, however, there are too many unnceccesary fighting scenes. It is good that Nollywood is leaning towards making crime thriller but Shanty Town relied so much on monologue than dialogue, especially its heavy repetition, makes for a tedious viewing experience.

At the end, Shanty Town still remains what it is. Nigeria is still “Nigeria”.

Rating: 7/10

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