FILM REVIEW : AFAMEFUNA (2023)

For a movie that was released a while back, had gained so much traction that almost every one was talking about it, I am late to the party. But it's never too late, is it?

INTRODUCTION
The subtitle of 'nwa boi' gives a glimpse into the theme of the film. Though it does not tell all about the sauce that thickens the tale.
The 'nwa boi' narrative is synonymous with the Igbos of Eastern Nigeria. It is a practice that has given the tribe a place of prosperity. The lbo Apprenticeship System, explored in the film, Afamefuna is done with such perfect finish.

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THE PLOT
Afamefuna celebrates the protagonist who goes by the same name, a young boy who arrives the city of Lagos with big dreams and a personality that fights to attain them. He is surprised by many acts that he witnesses, thrilled by the sights and sounds of the entrepreneurship scene and stunned by the package that life gives to him. Mentored by Paul, the head of the Nwa Boi Dynasty in his master's kingdom, he strives to maintain the humility he carries like a tag, while the world rushes past him, like a whirlwind. Some incidents occur, placing Afamefuna in the eye of the storm and questioning the authenticity of his name which means 'my name will not be lost.'
Afamefuna had nominations at the not-so-recently concluded Africa Magic Viewers Choice and was a well-executed film.

MY THOUGHTS
Kanayo 0. Kanayo and Segun Arinze, veteran actors from the early days of Nollywood showed that they have not lost their spectacular acting skills. Fast-rising star, Stan Nze played his role well, and I dare say no one else could have acted the role of Afamefuna better than he did. Alexx Ekubo did well enough for his role as Paul.
The film is a keepsake, and I believe will be
watched by many generations of people who want to learn about the lgbo Apprenticeship System.
Afamefuna is a mix of so many melodies
parading other themes apart from the main one and producing sonorous music to beautify the Nigerian movie scene.

However, i must say that the movie went just a little below my expectations. It's not so bad, but it's not so good either.
I love what it represents —the apprenticeship system in igbo land, the resilience, culture and language of the igbos. It was really beautiful to watch.
The premise was good. I was in suspense to know what really happened to Paul, who killed him and if Afamefuna was truly innocent like he claimed.

The premise like I said, was good. In fact, the first half of the movie was beautifully executed. But when it started to go downhill was after Kanayo settled Afamefuna before Paul. The storyline just turned upside down after that.

The pacing was not so good. It was rushed, too rushed.
I feel like Kanayo's daughter didn't bring life to her character. Also, Afamefuna's feelings for her and his proposal seemed all rushed and poorly executed.
Then the plot twist and resolution. Weak. Didn't give what it was supposed to give. I mean, this is what we've been waiting for, to see who killed Paul, and they delivered it to us like that? In that way? Nah, it was just too disappointing.

It's a feel-good movie. The first half was good; second half, terrible, rushed, dissapointing.

I believe the script writers, producers and directors at the time of production had their eyes fixed on the prize (the Oscars) and focused more on embellishing the movie with the Igbo dialect which I really admire a whole lot by the way. It made me feel that someone was taking notes when Genevieve Nnaji’s Lion Heart of 2018 was disqualified by the Academy for having “too much English language” in it, being an indigenous movie.

Now, while the Igbo speaking part in the movie wasn’t a bad idea especially given the manner with which Segun Arinze being a Yoruba man in real life, playing the role of an Hausa police officer (with the accent) also spoke the language, I honestly feel that other parts of the movie got lost in transit. The delivery wasn’t very convincing for me. There was seemingly a deviation following the betrayal that Alex Ekubo’s character felt which led to anger, hätred, bitterness, revenge and subsequent blackmail which later ended badly for him. It’s possible that this was a deliberate move away from the cliché of “oga accusing Nwa-boi (apprentice) of stealing from him and consequently refusing to settle him” storyline that we are used to. Maybe, just maybe I had too high an expectation from this movie

Be that as it may, the movie subtly highlighted on the issue of infertility and DNA testing. One of the best part for me was when it touched on the need for young children to learn to speak our indigenous languages as many homes appear to not be meeting up with this. Kids need a strong form of identity down to their roots for posterity sakes irrespective of place of abode - be it abroad or home.

CONCLUSION & RATING
Overall, this is a relatively good movie for people with a higher level of patience reason being that it could have had a shorter duration but was slow-paced and dragged unnecessarily for too long.

Based on all of the above points of mine, I’ll give the movie a 7/10

Images used are screenshots from the movies except stated otherwise.

Have you seeen the movie? Will you see it?
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