The Nigerian way

The unseen lives of everyday Nigerians.





Screen shot from Kasala.

There is no doubt for any viewer who sees��Kasala��that the debut by Nigeria���s��Ema��Edosio��is��one hundred percent Nigerian fare. It reeks in the film’s dialogue���a mash of colloquialisms��and local dialects���in the vividness of the actors’��eyes as they throw lines at each other,��and in a few things to be explored further��on in this piece.��Unwittingly, the film��doubles as a quasi-documentary on the Nigerian condition. The plot which is easy enough, follows��titular character TJ, who “borrows” his��guardian’s��car, with the intention of having a few hours of fun and returning��it before the man returns. Sadly, or rather comically many things go awry.��To think that the entire film plot could be resolved in a matter of minutes, had TJ and his three friends��happened upon a small��amount of money is the film���s true plug to the pain and irony that many Nigerians can tap into, and to a larger extent��anyone who has ever felt any kind of poverty.

The film is held by a good ensemble. TJ and his trio make a convincing case for friendship.��They fight, they rally when the times��are��hard,��they��take digs at each other and interact with absolute honesty.��The performances could be described as��a��thesis in the��Nollywood��tendency to overact.��The actor��Gregory��Ojefua��calls it ���not as much overacting as a basic expressive Nigerian way.��� Nigerians are naturally��performative��people, which is why so much��drama��seeps into the acting culture.��However,��there is a difference between skilled overacting, and just��overacting (see Jennifer Lewis��in almost anything��and/or��Tiffany��Haddish��in Girls Trip). In��Kasala, for the most part, the��vividness��of the performances is in perfect complement with the film���s visual tone.

Kasala��is shot in a Lagos familiar to photographers and documentary makers, but��often��missing from��many of the recent Nigerian theatre releases. In the bid to ���tell our stories��� and achieve global footing, there is a tendency��in��many��Nollywood��releases to package the country in a manner only mildly befitting of many Nigerians realities���a��Nigeria of fancy apartments and constant electricity and almost zero traffic,��which��is a fraction of Nigeria, but ultimately misrepresentative of��how the larger��population lives.��Kasala��is shot��not as exotic poverty porn,��but as integrated into the lives of the characters. The result is a visual spectacle which truly utilizes the artistic merits:��the shanties the characters duck through, the open markets, the refuse��dumps, the roadside food service, the��plastic, the betting points, the colors and madness of it all,��provide��excellent visual play.

Of��note are the ways the story revolves��as much around the central characters as the environment they find themselves in. The plot flexes just enough to give the supporting characters their own identities beyond adding to the��protagonists’��journeys.��Two stories run parallel. While TJ and his friends seek to undo the��damage��they have caused to��Brother��Taju���s��car,��the latter��embarks on his own series of errands for the day. It is a convincing portrait with all the right notes of hilarity and sadness, as one watches him evade creditors, and chase debtors with the��equal��amounts��of skill and frustration. There is a memorable scene of him riding on a motorcycle threatening obscene hilarities in pitch-perfect��Nigerinisms��if the driver will not stop to let him answer the call of nature. Of note��also��is a��spectacular cameo from��Gbenga��Afolayan��playing a shameless debtor.

The movie premiered in Paris at the��Nollywood��film festival and has been selected for screening at more international film festivals.��Sadly, the distribution challenges confronting the Nigerian film industry ensure that many of the people this film was made for will not see it.��We should spare a few thoughts for the Nigerians existing in a no less crazy��reality��who may never��afford the cinema tickets or the cable subscription to��enjoy it.