MOVIE REVIEW :FAR FROM HOME

         MOVIE REVIEW:FAR FROM HOME

Adebayo Nurudeen

BACKGROUND

Far away from home was produced by Netflix in collaboration with  Inkblot Production Company. Inkblot was founded in 2010 by Naz Onuzo, Oyibo Zulumoke, Damola Ademola, and Omotayo Adeola. They were also the producer of The Wedding party and Its Sequel both ranking as the highest–grossing Nigerian movies of all time.

The  Nollywood drama was made available on Netflix, on December 16, 2022. It is Netflix’s first Nigerian Young adult series, divided into 5 episodes. The duration of the episode in a sequential order goes as thus: 54 minutes, 32 minutes, 37 minutes, 39 minutes, and 51 minutes. 

PLOT

The movie began with the introduction of the lead actor Ishaya Bello (Mike Afolarin), a talented artist with dreams, from the trenches of Lagos State  (Isale Eko)  - struggling to make ends meet, with no or little family support, determined to accomplish his goals irrespective of the hurdles forthcoming. He juggled various menial jobs, from helping his mother with house cleaning to being a waiter in a club and still juggling to sell his art. Ishaya Bello was willing to go to any length to achieve his dream, stole the answers to the scholarship exam, sold drugs, and was tagged as selfish by his Mother, Patricia Bello (Funke Akindele), and his best friend  Micheal (Moshood Fattah). 

The movie developed gradually into introducing other actors, Carmen Wilmer-Willoughby (Elma Mbadiwe), a gentle dove, with the smile of someone who knows the big secret of living beautifully. A victim of destructive love which caused her scars and her story arc was perfect,  She seems like a mean girl at first but is a softie on the inside. Carmen is the daughter of Feyi (Bimbo Akintola), who is stuck up and looks down on people who are not in the same economic class as her and Mabel Wilmer-Willoughby (RMD). 

The storyline had a different moving piece, there was character development for the main and support actors. we also understood their journeys.

CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION

The casting is perfectly done, the casting director deserves a lot of accolades;  characters were well chosen.  At first, you wonder why these students are behaving like they are, but when you bring it back to Nigerian society u  realize this is similar to a sixth-form college, an academy between Secondary school and Tertiary Institution, with an age range of 16 to 22, understanding comes in, in terms of their behavior, lack of discipline and immoral conduct. 

DIALOGUE

The writing of the movie was done by Dami Elebe, excellent writing. An attestation to this, was when Ishaya took molly for the first time and he went straight online to search for the effects of molly, goggle is who we all run to when we have cognitive dissonance on things or issues.

THEME

The themes of the movie are as thus:

THEME OF LOVE: Life is for the living and love is for the giving_ Barry and Gideon. Motherly love was depicted between Frank and his mother  Mrs. Abok (Chioma Chukwuka),  owner of the popular eatery, Frankees. She paid the ransom of 20 million when her son was kidnapped. Affection was also shown between Mabel Wilmer and his daughter Carmel, where he pampered her, gave her whatever she needed, and was helpless when it was decided Carmel needs rehab. 

THEME OF DISCIPLINE: A disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering_ Dalai Laima.  The movie postulated the Nigerian mother's no-nonsense mentality, Carmen’s mother tried her possible best in ensuring her daughter is disciplined, exculpated her from having friends, and going to parties, and took her to the lady in her coma as a result of the accident after found gallivanting on social media partying and drinking and it is obvious she postulated the idea of her going to rehab to stop her addiction to drugs.

THEME OF SELF-CONTENTMENT: Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” ― Oprah Winfrey.  Despite the struggles facing the Bello family, Ishaya’s parents opted not to collect money from him because of a problem that will eventually precede it. 

THEME OF CORRUPTION: The sole foundation of Nigeria’s problem comes from corruption, it is embodied in every sector of the country. Principal Gemade: the principal at Wilmer Academy and her Secretary Ms. Abubakar , gave the answers to the scholarship exam to MR. Babatunde, on behalf of his son Denrele.

MUSIC

The choice of music used in the movie by Gray Jones Ossai is top-notch. Let’s have a summary of the song titles and their interpretation.  

Bella shrmuda’s Triumphant was played during the struggles encountered by Ishaya juggling his daily activities of working in the bar, selling his artwork, and being insulted by Denrele’s father on the visit to Wilmer Academy with his sister. The music itself is about triumph, explaining that after struggle there will be joy. 

On the other hand, Ayra Starr’s Bloody Samaritan was played to celebrate Rahila’s indoor birthday and Blessings on blessings was played in the club where Oga Rambo was spraying money and strippers were showing off their assets.

Party scatters by Fireboy was played during the house party hosted by Reggae.

 COSTUME AND APPEARANCE

The Bello family was portrayed to us as the average Nigerian Family, struggling to make ends meet.  Rahila appears in low-budget leggings and bend-down select gowns from Isale-Eko.

Her mother is always in Tops and okrika jeans and the quizzer who is always causing trouble -Ishaya, appeared in a low-quality round neck, he attended the scholarship entry exam in a short with a slack round neck and their father suffered an unfortunate accident, on the other hand, appears on jalab and Ankara.

The family of  Wilmer-Willoughby depicts the bourgeois of Nigerian Society. The educated first-class citizens with power, and landed properties build their homes in the Government Reservation Area. Carmen’s mother always appeared putting on   Gold ornaments, and her father Mabel was always in an expensive neatly and stylishly dressed suit.

CASTING

The casting was done perfectly, the young actors were the lead roles while the legacy actors took on the support roles as second generation-The likes of Funke Akindele, and Adesua Etomi.

CRITIC

Ishaya’s Bello should have been punished, he is a criminal who in the name of achieving his dreams became an accomplice in the kidnapping of his roommate, dubiously got a scholarship, and sold drugs to students which eventually lead to the burning of the school laboratory. Taking his scholarship away is not enough punishment.

Oga Rambo (Bolanle Ninalowo),  A club owner with a drug business as a side hustle didn’t live up to the hype, always shouting and didn’t take any action. The writers should have given him more roles or scenes to play. Criminals with money are not aggressive; they pass instructions to their subordinates.

Let’s take a look at people’s opinions on the movie far from home

Mr. Macaroni, a popular skit maker

FAR FROM HOME!!! Super Recommended!!! From Story to Acting, cinematography~ A complete package!!! All those involved in this amazing project should be proud. Please watch and Enjoy.

Far from home was such an amazing watch. Probably the best thing to come out of Nollywood this year, in my opinion. If you watched “Wetin Dey” and “Shuga” growing up, you’d understand how beautiful this production is.- Osasbaby

Far from home is the best Nigerian TV show I've seen! Loved it  - Beats by dreaz

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