Before the Rain

Before the Rain

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Before The Rain ~ 2008
(Continuation called Dangerous Beauty)
Story – Eriobi Chibuzo Sunday & Nwegwu Chinweike
Screenplay – Chidi Chijioke
Director – Ikechukwu Onyeka

Starring:
Van Vicker – Fabian
Chika Ike – Anita
Tonto Dikeh – Mercy
Desmond Elliot – Raymond
Halima Abubakar – Meg
Ene Millex Ogiri – Nneka
Princess Eugoda – Mimi
Udolisa Uzoma – Morris
Chika Ihekwabu – Anita’s mum
Mary Igwe – Oby
Amaechi Aguiyi – Meg’s mum
Chukwuemeka Akpagu – Melvin
Chubozor Umeh – Chidi

My Rating – 40%

Themes Explored:
Campus Life
Cultism
Jealousy
Status

Mercy and Anita are two girls from poor homes from the same village. They both gain admission to the same university and become roommates. Their relationship sours when Mercy’s jealousy gets the best of her. Mercy is holding a grudge because Anita has a boyfriend, and she does not. She does not like the fact that Fabian likes her friend and not her so she sets about spreading on campus that Anita has Asthma in a bid to stigmatise her.

In time Anita does get her own boyfriend, however one of the “Social Ladies,” a cult on campus has their eyes on him and she is warned off him by them repeatedly. She does not adhere to the warnings and consequently is stripped and beaten in public. She flees campus humiliated only to return and reinvent herself and the fearsome and notorious Mercy Blaze.

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

The primary fault with the film is the storyline. It is a big big problem in that the storyline is based around Anita’s illness which is … Wait for it….  ASTHMA! When have you have you ever heard of someone being stigmatised because they have asthma? An adult at that? This was pure nonsense. It is a condition that they say affects up to a quarter of urban children, and in the movie it was likened to leprosy.

Anita wants to keep her asthma a secret from the whole school, but her friend Mercy decides to go spreading the news around school. All of a sudden people are disgusted by her and shy away from her. The disease isn’t even one that shows intself in one’s physical appearance, or one that is contagious, or even one that can be passed on at all so this was just stooooooooopid. There was no research done in this movie. I am not even asthmatic and I know how and asthma pump is used. They have Chika grunting, rolling her eyes and pressing the pump furiously with no deep inhalation or method to her action. It was horrible to comedic effect.

One day her boyfriend Fabian finds her in her room during an attack and cue wide eyes and dramatic music. I mean WTF? It was as if he had caught his church princess shooting up heroin. From that moment on he begins avoiding her. This could have made sense if the affliction was HIV, or herpes but for it to be asthma was just senseless. We then learn that he dumps her because his ex girlfriend died of asthma. We even see a flashback where he is remembering his ex’s death. The death scene was ridiculous. It looked like a panic attack and then she just dropped to the floor.
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I was surprised that Tonto had her butt crack and kebab out during the scene where she gets stripped and beaten by the Social Ladies in an industry where when a girl is going swimming she is wearing a swimming costume over cycling shorts and a bra. I don’t know what was with the extra highlighting of Tonto’s body in this movie. There is another scene where she goes to try and seduce Fabian, played by Van Vicker. She is wearing some orange shorts and we get a close up of her camel toe… ugh!

The women in the movie have no shame. I suppose females like this exist. They are fighting over men that openly don’t want them. The head of The Social Ladies beats Tonto for dating “her man” Larry. Of course Larry is not her man and has no interest in her. He even goes to confront her and make it clear that he is into Mercy and not her, yet she is still ranting, claiming him as her own. Status has given her a sense of entitlement. She does not care if he wants her or not, getting him to comply is her main thing, whether or not he truly wants to be with her or not.
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Stand out performance was Tonto Dikeh, as usual… She played her part brilliantly. I was also loving Ene Millex Ogiri. She was the perfect casting for her role as a Social Lady. Van Vicker – Blah. Chika Ike – Blah. Adequate but bland performances.

I would not recommend this movie. It doesn’t end and then like me you will end up wasting another few hours of your life going to watch the continuation Dangerous Beauty, another 2 part movie. However,  it is not all bad, some of it is so ridiculously stupid it will have you in hysterics. There were also some very good isolated scenes like when Mercy’s parents show up on campus looking like village rats and she denies them. Build of mystery was also good in parts, even when I thought the film was veering on ridiculous I still couldn’t help but to keep on watching. So it’s up to you!

Tears Of Womanhood

Tears Of Womanhood

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

 

Story – Abdul Salam Mumuni

Screenplay – Phil Efe Bernard

Director – Frank Rajah Arase

 

TEARS OF WOMANHOOD

 

Starring:

Psalm Adjefeto – Daniel

Naana Hayford-Domfeh – Tessy

Kalsonme Senare – Sienna

Jackie Appiah – Samira

Majid Michel – Dennis

Eddie Nartey – David

Yvonne Nelson – Khadija

Elezra Ofori – Sonia

Vicky Zugah – Rachel

 

 

 

Themes the Film Covers

Religion

Status and Class

Patriarchy

Family Relationships

 

 

My Rating 77%

 

The film opens with a son throwing a birthday party for his father. The son, David gives a speech on how wonderful his father is and how blessed he is to have such a gather before opening up the floor to allow other to contribute to his praising. Samira, niece to his mother’s housemaid steps in and gives a passionate and animated speech ending in rapturous applause by the other partygoers.

 

The father is not even aware of who Samira is and leans into his wife and whispers,

 

“Who is she?”

 

The girl’s aunt has worked with the family since their children were small and he does not know who she is despite the fact that she would have been in his house many times. This just shows the mental gulf between the classes that the man of the house will not even acknowledge those he deems beneath him.

 

 

It only takes this one occasion for David to fall hopelessly in love with Samira and they eventually begin dating. When he asks for his father’s blessing he is completely stunned to discover that not only does his father refuse to give his blessing, he also disowns him and shuns him from the family home. He cannot accept that the girl is of a lower social class and a Muslim.

 

Religion and social class are barriers and despite the mother being open to Samira being her daughter in law, her husband’s word is final in the patriarchal society she belongs to. He also has the authority to ban Zena the maid from praying in the house despite his wife permitting it previously. He is also begged by his wife to go to Zena’s daughter’s wedding and outright refuses deeming the attendance of such a low class wedding beneath him and sending his son instead.

 

When David is shunned from the house he and Zena have no other choice but to relocate and take Zena with them at David’s mother’s insistence. We see David’s mother finding it hard to cope with the situation that she has been put in. Losing her son and long term maid and friend as well as having a voice that she is not allowed to use. At one point she questions her husband,

 

“Are men made for principles and culture or are principles and culture made for men?”

 

She is making the point that there is no use on holding onto principles and a culture that do not enrich your life; those that you do not necessarily believe in but blindly follow because of tradition. She has a fair point but her husband does not agree with her speaking out of place and whacks her in the face. A poignant moment follows. She is dignified in the face of such unnecessary brute force, simply saying to him,

 

“You have failed.”

 

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

 

In the home of David and Samira we see “Princess Tyra” back again as Zena’s daughter a wayward college girl called Khadija. She is one of the hot girls on campus and a new guy on the scene is trying to pursue her. A guy called Dennis played by Michael Majid. He has an array of lame chat up lines that as pathetic as they are soon draw Khadija in. One minute she cannot stand him and the next they are bosom buddies. I found the build up of the relationship and little too unbelievable.

 

Dennis ends up in a coma after protecting Khadija in a fight and it is through this awful event that the family is reunited again. I could not stop laughing when I saw him lying in the hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around his waist like a hula hoop on a belly dancer. What were the filmmakers thinking?  

 

It turns out the Dennis is David’s long lost brother and because his mother comes to visit Dennis in the coma the family comes together, however the father is still harbouring ill will and will not claim David as his son. It is only much later at their grandmother’s funeral that he puts their differences aside and embraces him literally and figuratively.

 

NB… Didn’t David look like a damned fool turning up to his grandma’s funeral in white moon glasses, and Samira in her dotted shawl and striped skirt looked absolutely ridiculous!