REVIEW OF FRANK RAJAH ARASE’S ‘IYORE, THE RETURN’

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Raj and Heroes Films

DIRECTOR: Frank Rajah Arase

PRODUCER: Kwame Boadu

SOUND DESIGNER: Bernie Anti

EDITOR: Afra Marley

CAST

Rita Dominic               -as-                  Osarugwe

Joseph Benjamin         -as-                  Prince Azuwa

Okawa Shaznay           -as-                  Princess Ajoke/Amenze/Onaiwu

Yemi Blaq                    -as-                  Ovie

Paul Obazele               -as-                  Oba

Bukky Wright              -as-                  Queen Adekoya

'Iyore, the return' is a familiar love story garnished with the tale of betrayal, forced marriage, reincarnation and curses. It grants its audience a glimpse of the culture of the Great Benin Kingdom. The film is a great lecture material for filmmakers who wish to use their films to sell their culture or nationality whilst clarifying some stereotypical views held by many against most cultures.

Frank Rajah Arase does bring his ‘A’ game on this wonderful story as its dramatic plots overshadowed most technical blunders. ‘Iyore, the return’ tells the story of a beautiful lady, Osarugwe (Rita Dominic), who even though married to Ovie (Yemi Blaq), is being pressured by her childhood lover, Prince Azuwa (Joseph Benjamin) for her attention. With strict instructions and conditions meted out by his father, the Oba of the Benin Kingdom (Paul Obazele), Prince Azuwa is ever ready to let go of any and all inheritance to spend his life with a “worthless pauper” who has his heart than with a woman who means nothing to him. After his insistence of committing an abominable act of making Osarugwe, a married woman, his soul mate, he worsens his situation with the mention of her (Osarugwe's) pregnancy for him (Prince Azuwa); he is immediately disowned and banished from the kingdom by his father. Adjusting to his sorrowful situation, he lands himself behind bars and is separated from his soul mate, Osarugwe. Frustrated, Osarugwe seeks answers which reveals a generational curse pacified only by her letting go of Prince Azuwa.

With an appalling opening act from the twins of Prince Azuwa (Joseph Benjamin) at his home after spending nineteen (19) years in jail, the film was brought back to life with the usual Frank Rajah Arase’s signature – a long poem which most often than not summarizes than sets the ball rolling for his art pieces. This time, his long poem did not inspire the viewer but compressed a whole course of history lectures on the Great Benin Kingdom. I believe his aim of sharing the story of a great kingdom which happens to be his native land as he stated in an interview was beautifully achieved. Following the works of Frank Rajah Arase over the years, one can attest to the very fact that proverbs do make a substantial portion of his royal art pieces; but its use in ‘Iyore, the return’ is exceptionally beautiful to watch. It does challenge the intellectual capabilities of the viewer and arouses ones interest for more.

I was a bit disappointed with the acts of Joseph and Rita but much impressed with that of Shaznay and Yemi. Okawa Shaznay surprisingly expressed immersed control over her characterizations (as a concubine, young warrior and princess); roles most of her peers would have played and found themselves wanting. Rita, on the other hand, who was the lead character delivers an overall disappointing performance even though she had moments of shine. Yemi's few minutes on the screen as an insecure and indecisive husband (Ovie) is also worth commending. Even though Frank is noted for using new actors (which is well intended) you will expect some level of competence and not be so off with their act.

Art direction in this film was confusing as I constantly struggled to find the era being depicted with the costumes used. Since the story was driven with time, one would have expected to see the changes through costumes and props but it all looked similar from the very beginning to the end; making it very difficult for the viewer to understand.

I am tempted to believe that an ADR (Automatic Dialogue Replacement) was done for this art piece as it constantly neglects ambience in most of its scenes. As much as films concentrate on visuals, the audio drives the interest of the viewer. If that was supposed to be a style, it didn’t work for me.

Personally I have observed that most actors who tend to get more screen time pay less attention to their roles and tend to perform poorly as compared to those who are given minor roles. I would want to believe a director’s decision to use a particular character as his/her lead is because the director believes the supposed actor is much more competent for the role than others. Yet, they tend to offer abysmal acts as compared to these others. It looks like most of the actors tend to fall for the age old problem of complacency. You would expect an actor who commands certain scripts from known directors to meet the standards they have set for themselves over the years, yet they deliver disappointing performances. But it is okay for them because there is always the promise of another script. Well, there is no other option than to watch what is presented right? Of course not! They can do better. They know it, we know it and so they should.

Frank Rajah Arase’s ‘Iyore, the return’ has intelligently crafted a cultural piece that can stand as one of the best films in 2015 even though its art direction is questionable. For this Ghana Cinema Review hands it an 80%.

   

      

REVIEW AND CRITICISM ON KOBI RANA'S 'I DO'

DIRECTOR: Kobi Rana

STORY/SCREENPLAY: Kobi Rana

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: ABC Pictures

PRODUCER: Kafui Danku

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Justice Abadah

D.O.P: Gaf Marley

EDITOR/GRAPHICS: Enoch Obiri Yeboah

MUSIC SCORE: GMK

STARRING: Kafui Danku, Jose Tolbert, Elikem Kumodji, Jasmine Baroudi, Nana Ama McBrown, Van Vicker, Mawuli Gavor, Roselyn Ngissah, Justice Abadah, among others.

 

INTRODUCTION

I was a bit dumbfounded but happy when I got to the Accra Mall to be informed that the first and second show of ‘I DO’ premiere on the 6^th of March was sold out. This may be a 2015 record for the producer but sends a simple message to the many producers out there not to neglect the importance of publicity. As much as one may have spent thousands to produce his/her movie, it is to his/her benefit if he/she adds a few more thousands to help publicize his/her product. And that I believe was the very reason ‘I DO’ was sold out even though it did fall on another ‘boring’ independence day. #keepsupportingtheindustry

 

REVIEW

‘I DO’, in my opinion, is the first ever multiple loose adaptation film in the history of Ghana since one can openly notice the plots taken from numerous art pieces such as ‘LOVE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT’, ‘PRETTY WOMAN’, ‘4 PLAY’ and other films by Pascal Amanfo and Frank Rajah Arase. Not to say it is bad, but to say most plots from these films were just too obvious; they at least deserve a little acknowledgement from the director.

‘I DO’ tells the story of four best friends played by Mawuli Gavor, Elikem Kumodji, Van Vicker and Jose Tolbert, who promised each other to get married on the same day, same time and same place. As silly as it may sound, it did happen on a fateful day at beautiful venue; where these four hot and handsome looking gentlemen tied the knot with four sizzling, sexy and sassy ladies played by Roselyn Ngissah, Jasmine Baroudi, Nana Ama McBrown and Kafui Danku.

The film opens at the wedding ceremony which is officiated by Appietus, who reads the vows for the gentlemen to respond to. They decide to play a trick on the ladies by giving them the unusual responds of ‘never!’, ‘over my dead body’, which left the ladies stupefied (one can surely imagine their thoughts at that very moment). Like iced water poured on a flame, they relax their sorrowful looking faces with a beautiful smile as they change their respond to big ‘yes’.

The story gets deeper when Jasmine reveals her past lifestyle as a lesbian; with her partner being present at the same hotel. She is therefore left to decide on who she wants to spend her life with – her husband or lesbian partner. Roselyn also gets to find out of Mawuli’s infertility after he played gimmicks on her with the excuse of having tummy upset to ignore her. Van Vicker on the other hand comes out of the bathroom after his shower to find his wife dead. (SPOILER ALERT: Van Vicker was dreaming) For Jose, even though it is a marriage contract, he notices that he is in love with Kafui Danku and as such does his best to keep her to himself.

It finally concludes with Jasmine bidding her lesbian partner goodbye with a hug. Nana Ama is promised an everlasting love from Van Vicker no matter what she goes through in life. Jose is also able to convince Kafui to stay with him after several minutes of talk as Roselyn forgives Mawuli and accepts him for who he is. (Eeeeiiii! Eba fee gbeyei)

The story therefore gets a 20 out of 50.

CRITICISMS

Even though it is a parody, the way a sensitive issue like ‘lesbianism’ was handled was a bit unprofessional. Ever since the issue of ‘homosexuality’ came up in the public domain, many found it disturbing and as such became a very popular debate in the country. I very well know that the film industry is filled with so much freedom, but that freedom should not be used to over step sensitive boundaries. This isn’t the first time this topic has been treated since filmmakers like Pascal Amanfo and Frank Rajah Arase have tackled this same topic but on a softer and lighter manner than I saw in ‘I DO’. The scene where Jasmine kissed her lesbian partner was a bit too intense to watch; and this you could see on the faces of the audience as they felt so uncomfortable watching. I must say I admire the courage of the ladies to act that particular scene; but I also felt that its subtraction wouldn’t have changed the course of the film. This is not to say that we should not shoot sex scenes but to state that it is worth it when the story calls for it. Some examples will be the Hollywood films – ‘Body Heat’ and ‘Fatal Attraction’.

As an actor, knowing and understanding the character you are to play makes it easier for you to give your very best. That is why I am mostly offended when some ‘intellectuals’ insult the ‘kumawood films’. Even though some do not use scripts, the directors make sure that the actors understand the role they are about to play and as such keep to it throughout the film; and that is lacked in most of the ‘Glamour films’. The actor is not just made to understand the role and keep to it, but also characterized with how to talk, walk and look. This I say because I always see Elikem with ear piercings. Is that part of his character in all these movies? As much as the actor must be real does not mean he or she needs to show a bit of who he/she is in the new character or form he/she is playing. That makes the identity of the role he/she is playing unbelievable. That is why I would say the Nana Ama McBrown’s performance was at her utmost peak in comparison to the others. She kept her characterization and brought her role to life in each scene. I must also acknowledge the acting skill of Justice Abadah (Hotel Receptionist), he was just fun to watch. I hope to see more of him soon. I would give the general acting in this film a 6.5 out of 10.

I am a big fan of Enoch Obiri Yeboah’s editing, but I must say that some scenes in this particular film lacked a lot of pacing and rhythm. I most often state that the editor is the final director because he/she tells the final story by putting together images. But when the editor lacks his/her touch on the film then he/she is more of a cutter than an editor. And for this very film, I felt Enoch was more of a cutter than an editor since all he did was to cut different portion of every shot given to him by the director forgetting to add some sense of pace and rhythm. Watching the scene where Nana Ama McBrown stood by the mirror crying, I was taken out of the mood when the editor shifted the attention from her face to show her and the entire room. It kept me wondering exactly what the editor wanted me to see by giving that shot. The attention was on her and not the room, so the attention should have been left on her face ignoring that shot even though the director did take it. Another is the scene where Jasmine and her lesbian partner were on the bed having a chat about what to do next. Since the course of the story was dependent on the dialogue than the beauty of the shots, Enoch should have kept the attention on them with either the two shots from behind or with the profile shots which Gaf Marley racked focus. We needed to concentrate on the dialogue than on the room. The room at that very moment was of no use to the story. Apart from this and other petty negligence on the side of Enoch, I will give him a 6 out of 10 for this film.

I don’t know if it is Kobi Rana’s love for steady shots or that of Gaf Marley’s preference to do so, but its use was so much that it was very difficult to tell whether it is a POV (a point of view) of a cast or just a style. I am not against steady shots or hand held shots since the ‘BIRDMAN’ movie which took the overall best picture at this year’s OSCARS was full of it; but against it when it lacks meaning. And it lacks meaning when the viewer is unable to attach meaning to its use in the film. If it is a style, the shakes shouldn’t be too visible for the audience to notice. Apart from this and the numerous out of focus shots I had to overlook throughout the film, I will give Gaf Marley a 6 out of 10 also for his work on this film. 

For the music used in this film, I will say I was most comfortable with the actual ‘I DO’ soundtrack than that of Kobi Rana’s ‘Gben Gben’, which I felt its lyrics contradicted what was on scene. Who was hating and who was elevating? The use of the background music was just too much that it most often than not conflicted with the dialogue. Each time there was no dialogue, there is either a soundtrack or background music. Forgetting that silence is also of much importance. GMK therefore deserves a 5 out of 10 for the music score.

The art director for this production can be praised for the beautiful suits designed for the grooms, the make-up, costumes and the bedroom design of each couple. Unlike the normal black suits, it had a touch of the Ghanaian Kente to spice it up. The lovely decoration of the beds with roses and cakes was just appealing to the eye. It may have been mirrored but done perfectly. I will give the art director a 7 out of 10. 

In conclusion, ‘I DO’ gets a 50.5% rating.

I must say that I was a bit shocked that Kobi Rana didn’t make an appearance in this flick, which is a 2015 record; unless I did not notice him.