ELESIN OBA: THE KING'S HORSEMAN - 6 THINGS I LIKED AND (6 I DIDN'T) ABOUT THE MOVIE

Image @imdb

CAST: Odunlade Adekola, Shaffy Bello, Olawale-Brymo Olofooro, Deyemi Okanlawon

GENRE: Drama/History (1h 36m)

SYNOPSIS: After the death of the king, his horseman must sacrifice himself in order to assist the king's spirit to move peacefully into the afterlife. It was common knowledge amongst the townspeople that the absence of the horseman sacrificing himself would mean chaos in the land. While the horseman was happy to go through with the ritual, some unforeseen distractions occur, causing an out-of-the-blue misfortune. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THE MOVIE

1. The Costumes And Make-up 

a. The fake beard the Elesin Oba wore didn't match the hair on his head. They should have also applied some "wrinkly" makeup to his body to show that he is old. Judging by how mature his son Olunde is, it is easy to assume that the Elesin Oba will be a much older man.

b. Olunde looked too modern for a movie set in the 1940s. They should have given him a typical 90s look.

c. The Iyalode played by Shaffy Bello also had modern day make-up on. Did we have foundation, concealer, matte lipstick back in the 1940s, in Nigeria? Hmmm, I don't think so. A minimal makeup would have done the trick.

d. Taiwo Ajai-Lycett's outfit wasn't really giving what it was supposed to give. It could have been classier and this has nothing to do with the cleavage. In fact, for a woman in her 80s, it's nice to know that she still got it.

e. What was the purpose of the annoying white couple wearing the masquerade costume? The fact that they have been living in that town for a while means they should have been familiar with the traditional outfits and their meanings. Except they were being deliberately ignorant.

f. What was with the "everywhere Adire" 😳. They had other materials in Oyo right?

2. The nudity at the beginning wasn't necessary. It didn't add or take away anything from the story.

3. Why did everything happen in the same place? The wedding, the "ritual", including the wedding night sex. Elesin Oba no get house ni 🥴.

4. Why did we only see the Iyalode, what happened to the Chiefs or village elders. They made it look like the Iyalode was the major decision maker after the king died. Or did I miss something?

5. Communication 

a. The question on everyone's lips. How were the whites able to communicate with the townspeople without an interpreter. I get that after you live in a place for a long time you catch one or two things, in terms of communication. You start to understand facial expressions, sounds, tones etc. However, their conversations shouldn't have been that flawless, I was expecting a lot of confused facial expressions and some "I don't understand". 

b. The Oyo accent could have been thicker. Their Yoruba sounded like modern day Yoruba. I mean, where is the 'H' factor.  The Oyos tend to stress their words and have deep nasal sounds, however, I didn't really catch that, even amongst  the villagers.

c. The King's dog could have looked chubbier. I mean it's the king's dog 🐕, it should have been a fresher looking dog. Right?

6. The story line

It could have been better. I understand that they were trying to stick to the books. But, they should have added their own elements, given us some suspense, melodrama etc. Another thing I don't get is the trance situation. According to the Iyalode and some of the villagers, the reason he failed was because he stalled the ritual due to his love for women. Sooo, the gods waited for him to sleep with his new wife before calling him, or what? I don't get, is a trance controllable? Correct me if I am wrong. 

Judging by the songs the villagers were singing and what the Iyalode said to the Elesin Oba while he was detained, we were made to understand that he was powerful (socially and spiritually), that he could say go, and things would go, he could say come and things would come. However, that wasn't portrayed in the movie. All I saw was a man enjoying the privileges of being the king's horseman. I wouldn't have pegged him for someone with spiritual powers.

Finally, the ending, which is also my least favourite part of the movie. It felt rushed. The cell door was opened within seconds of the Elesin Oba trying to hang himself. Also, who dies that fast from hanging, he wasn't even suffocated for long. They should have made it in a way that Simon forgot the keys in the house (that would give enough time for the king's horseman to die). Furthermore, how did Olunde played Deyemi Okanlawon die? Did he kill himself, was he killed by the townspeople, is there a rule that if the Elesin Oba fails, the son must go in his place? 

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE MOVIE

1. Some Of The Casts - I think Odunlade Adekola did a good job (asides the accent). Shaffy Bello also brought it, I didn't think she could play a village woman role, glad to see that she could be versatile. Deyemi Okanlawon was also good, he didn't do much but his performance was memorable. The extras were also interesting to watch, they acted well. As annoying as the white couple were, I think they were also okay, they played "ignorant white people" really well. 

Sidebar - Joke Silva and Taiwo Ajai-Lycett characters were not necessary

Extra sidebar - I don't think the Amusa role should have been given to Jide Kosoko.

2. I liked Brymo's performance. For a musician that has probably never acted before, I think he did pretty good.

3. I liked the music. I especially liked that they used Brymo's music 🎶 🎶 😉.

4. The picture quality was also great.

5. I liked that the movie was short. Considering the fact that it wasn't really exciting. I'm glad they didn't drag it for so long. 

6. My favourite scene was the conversation between Olunde and Jane (the white woman). I'm glad they showed us that he didn't just go to the UK to study medicine, his eyes were also open to the atrocities committed by the colonial masters and he let Jane have it. 

To summarise it all, it wasn't the best movie. I guess I expected too much from the producers. I'm rating the movie 3/10. It should have been left as a stage play.

What do you guys think 🤔 💭 🤔.