The Richest Man

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

The Richest Man ~ 2003
Story – Sam Onwuka
Screenplay – Chris Oge Kalu, Dobious Oxyright, Kalu Nnaoke
Director – Osita Okoli

Starring:
Nonso Diobi – Chima
Richard Mofe Damijo – Captain Chukwu
Rita Nzelu – Elizabeth
Maureen Solomon – Ogechi
Steve Eboh – Onwa
Sam Onwuka – Jenny
Chinelo Onwubiogu – Jane
Ogechukwu George – Louis
Charity Chukuezi – Mama Louis
Neville Ossai – Samson

Themes Explored:
Abuse
Abandonment
Jealousy
Adoption
Karma

My Rating – 65%

Captain Chukwu and his secretary Elizabeth are drawn together after some men offer her money to plant charms in his office. She refuses, informs him and together they report the incident to the police. It is this kindly deed and act of selflessness that has Captain Chukwu thinking about Elizabeth as more than an employed. Almost immediately afterwards he proposes to herm they marry and she quickly falls pregnant with Ogechi.

After the birth of Ogechi there comes a time when he decides to bring into the marital hme his dead brother’s orphaned twins. This causes big trouble in the marriage as Elizabeth is not keen on the boys living in their home, suspecting that they are his children by another woman. Not only is the future of the marriage thrown into jeopardy, but also the future happiness of the two boys under Elizabeth’s “care.”

*************SPOILERS*************

Abuse

It is heartbreaking to see innocent children abused because of their situation in life, which they have no control over. It is even the more startling as they can see that their treatment is in stark contrast to Ogechi who is Elizabeth’s natural daughter. We can see how jealousy can make people act in such nasty ways. Elizabeth was presented to us in the beginning as a selfless and kind woman but that all changes when she feels that her and or her daughter’s position may slip due to the new additions.

Captain Chukwu is presented to us as the boys saviour. When Elizabeth sends them away he is the one that goes to rescue them and bring them back home; however he must take some of the blame as the compliance he displayed was just as bad as the abuse meted out by Elizabeth. He did not take the abuse seriously enough and seemed to only give her half hearted warnings. He brought the boys into the home without her agreeing to it. That was his first mistake. He then accepts the excuses that she gives him even when there is evidence to suggest otherwise.
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Karma

I have said it before and I will say it again Karma is a Bitch and this movie is a good example of how karma can come back to haunt you. Elizabeth ended up treating her own flesh and blood badly to the extent that she plotted their downfalls in order to ruin their lives ending up with them in jail for a crime that they did not commit. She only finds out that they are the children that she abandoned when they are locked up.

It was good to see her get her comeuppance. At the end she was crying and begging for forgiveness calling the boys “my children.” Oooooooh so it is now you know that they are your children? She didn’t deserve their pity or for them to accept her apologies because if she didn’t find out that they were biologically hers she would have continued to treat them badly.
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Realism

The story of how the children were abandoned did not ring true for me. How is your friend going to persuade you to abandon your children if you hadn’t been seriously considering it previously? Her friend tells her, “Look at you. You have been reduced to a commoner because of these children,” and then the next night she dumps the kids on a street. What kind of stupidity is that? The whole scenario is too simple.
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I would recommend the movie. It was a little slow in Part 1 but then the story picked up in Part 2 I loved the twist at the end and it was good to see RMD on screen even thought it was an old movie. I miss him. Come back oooo! He is such a natural actor and has the charisma, charm and sex appeal to really set screens on fire. Does anyone know the significance of the title? I didn’t get it. Captain didn’t seem exceptionally rich in any sense of the word!

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