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November 17, 2009 # 9:09 pm # Film Reviews, Watch? Only if bored # 18 Comments
Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever
True Story ~ 2009
Story, Screenplay and Direction – Tchidi Chikere
Starring:
Ini Edo – Oyoo
Nkem Owoh – Papi
Chinelo Oloh – Igbemma
Gaddiel Onwudiwe – Obiako
Pat Asore – Ezinnne
Esther Ugwu – Woman
Ijeh Myke – Ojoto
Daniella Chioma Okeke – Alice
Danaliton Onyia – Biker man
Ifeanyi Ikechukwu – Agodi
Themes:
Spirits
Pregnancy
Dehumanisation of house help
My Rating – 55%
Oyoo is Papi’s pregnant wife who is forever moaning. Papi is the downtrodden husband who despite his best efforts cannot seem to make his over emotional and fussy wife happy. He puts up with her whims because she is pregnant but her whimsical behaviour soon takes a toll on him and very soon he finds happiness outside of his marital home. Happiness comes in the form of Igbemma, a house girl that he meets in the bush while looking for locusts to eat for Oyoo. Their meetings become regular and Papi stops pandering to his wife’s every whim.
*************SPOILERS*************
I actually found Ini’s character Oyoo quite annoying. She was supposed to be a nagging wife, but the behaviour was beyond nagging. This was something else. She would cry that he didn’t wake her up for the sunset, request that he make a special dish, and then after he’d made it want something else instead. I would not call that nagging but mental instability. In the first scene we see her waking up Papi in the middle of the night with her incessant crying. When he asks what is wrong she tells him in a whiny voice,
“I want to eat mixed pepper soup and yam”
As soon as Papi meets Igbemma in the bush he stops pandering to Oyoo’s every whim and there is a role reversal in that she starts catering to him in the way that he was to her. Harmony lasts barely a day before Oyoo starts her whining and crying over a dream she has, and so this back and forth between Oyoo and Papi continues with Oyoo being fine one minute and then whining and crying the next.
For me Igbemma’s death should have been close to the end of the movie. I mean after she died I had no more interest in watching the movie. I did not find the “haunting” scenes particularly interesting, sad or funny. It was all just a bit underwhelming. I did not see any chemistry between Nkem and Ini, and just slight chemistry with Nkem and Chinelo. Considering the fact that he fell in love with her I would have expected to see more chemistry.
I thought that the concept was good to a degree. We learn something a human’s need to be loved and wanted. Igbemma and Papi find each other at the right time when they are both in need. On the surface the two appear to be mismatched. Igbemma is the free spirit who gets joy from the simple act of gazing into the sky and from dancing in the fields and letting the spirits move her. These things are strange to Papi but with her help he soon begins to derive joy and look forward to these simple things too. Her life as a house help where she is beaten and humiliated on a daily basis becomes pleasurable in that she is able to share these things with Papi and likewise his life too changes as he is able to escape the burden that is his wife and feel carefree, if only temporarily.
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Technically I could not fault this movie. There was nothing wrong with it that I could put my finger on, ooops! Except the sound; that was pretty awful like someone walking in front of a speaker… but I just found it booooooring *yawn.* If the movie had stopped at any point in the first part (you know how these CD malfunctions go down? LOL) I would not have particularly cared to find out what happened. I would have happily ejected the CD and not even tried wiping it to attempt playing it again. The movie just did not evoke any emotion or reaction in me, be in laughter, sadness, surprise, horror… Just nothing.
Only towards the end of the movie did I really sit up and pay attention. This was where Papi is going to lay Igbemma to rest in her village. I enjoyed Papi’s interaction with Alice played by Damiella Chioma Okeke. It was very playful and they seemed very comfortable with each other. Those last scenes were the best bits of the whole movie. I would recommend this for people who like very slooooooooow village movies. For everyone else… give it a miss.
NB: This movie says 2009, but I suspect it’s repackaged. If anyone had any further info on that let me know! Nollywood Production Watch Nigerian African Movies Movie Reviews Review Lagos Idumota
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: Chinelo Oloh, Danaliton Onyia, Daniella Chioma Okeke, Esther Ugwu, Gaddiel Onwudiwe, Ifeanyi Ikechukwu, Ijeh Myke, Ini Edo, Nkem Owoh, Pat Asore, Tchidi Chikere
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Leave it to you to rate this movie so low. i warned you before. I think you might have been smoking wewe when you watched this movie. Everything clicked I loved this movie from start to finish. It was a9/10 !!! Solidly, one of Tchidi’s best movies. I have no complaints and the village scene fit nicely into the characters.
10 THUMBS UP!!!!
I have to disagree with you here. It is nowhere near his best… Soul of a Maiden is better than this… Native Son is better than this. I Belong is better than this… Fighting for Nothing is better than this. There was nothing impressive about this movie.
nolly i rmb i told u i had watched dis movie but gave up in d 1st part…funny enuff, it was a different movie titled true story featurin ini edo n desmond elliot…dis is quite confusin…do they rename d films? cheers!!!
They do rename them sometimes. but then there are so many movies… they must get called the same thing more than once sometimes. I remember buying Widow because everyone was talking about the film but I got one oooooold skoool movie and not the one with SDA… Was peeved beyond belief!
Nolly, you ar enot being fair. The naysayers are no where to be found. Everyone on FB agrees with me and not you. The perfomance and movie was stellar. Abeg, raise the level or go watch the movie again.
You have said your own SG and I do not agree. How can I raise the level? Which kind of nonsense is that… Then it would be your rating and not mine.
Its like Prince’s Bride many thought it deserved under 50, but I loved it and the rating stays end of!!!
Funny, I actually enjoyed this movie.
We r all different! Wasn’t my cup of tea
this movie was mediocre. I totally agree with NF. It’s Alice played by Daniella who tries to give it some colour. I think they should have added some intrigue if Papi had hit on that a**. I know I would.
Thank you Krypton… LMAO @ your comment…
NF, am Kenyan and watch Nigerian films a lot. Educate me, why is it that at times a girl/lady calls her sister or sis-in-law ‘auntie’? And the word ’sef’ means what?
LMAO Took me some time to figure this stuff out… Auntie is just used as a term of respect when someone is older than you… As for sef… “self”?
“sef” is similar to oh, aah… exclamations that you use to show emotion in your speech. “Sef” is often used in comments showing dislike, sarcasm, explanation or disappointment. You can also use it to add falvor to your comment.
This movie was great, and that hot gurl, Chinwe Oloh, she was good, i cant wait to watch her movies especially when she acts mainstream movies, she is hot and sexy too, she will look very stunning on mainstream shots in sexy outfits. I rate the movie 80%. It was another great work from Tchidi
Chinelo Oloh and CHIOMA Okeke did great job on the movie, they are both hot and very sexy starts, i cant wait to see them more on maintsream movies, Chioma booty is hotter than that of Mercy lol, but joke apart she and Chinelo are very pretty and sexy ladies that deserve more attention and more leading roles than they are getting, especially in mainstream movies cuz they both dress very hot and sexy. Cant wait to watch their movies in 2010, Ini is getting old and loosing her sex appeals and she is married now anyways. So big upps for Chinelo and Chioma, i love u guys. The movie gets 85% rating from me
Lauren, I agree, Nollywood movies run around the same plot, boy/girl romance or fighting for wealth/igwe-dom. To keep even the slowest (mentally) viewer, the Directors and Producers need to keep changing characters and Lauren can keep comparing their asses and other assets
Of all the movies I have watched from Nigeria, the best for me would be Father and Son, starring Nkem Owoh. Guaranteed to make you laugh.
Hmmm never seen that one. I’ll be on the look out!