Ijé is the newest offering from Nollywood, exploring themes, ideas and taking the Nollywood industry to the next level. It is just wonderful to do reviews on movies that can comfortably compete on an international scale. This movie features two of Nollywood’s biggest actresses – Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji. Over the years, there has been talk of a silent feud between these two but this movie laid all those rumors to rest as we got the chance to see them act professionally while taking viewers on a journey of emotions, ideas and themes. Coincidentally, Ijé means journey in Igbo language.
Cast:
Anyanwu – Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde,
Chioma – Genevieve Nnaji,
Jalene – Ulrich Que
Director:
Chineze Anyaene
Writers:
Samuel Tilsen, Chineze Anyaene
Rating:
5 out of 5
From The Producer:
“Ijé” tells the tale of Chioma, a child growing up in the Nigerian countryside who warned her restless sister, Anya, about the trappings of the American Dream. Ten years later, Anya is accused of killing three men in a Hollywood Hills mansion – one of them her record-producer husband. Chioma travels from Nigeria to Los Angeles, and with the help of a young attorney, discovers that the dark secret her sister wants to keep hidden might be the only thing that can win her freedom.
Synopsis:
It tells the story of Anyanwu who finds herself imprisoned in Los Angeles, California, United States for killing her husband and two other men. Chioma, who is her sister, goes to the United States to find out what really happened and also to try to save her. In the process, she learns a lot about the legal system in the United States and also uncovers her sister’s secrets. To get the answers that she seeks, she gets the help of an African American lawyer (Jalene) who is pushed by an empathetic and altruistic spirit to aid her. In the process of finding the truth, some of the sadder parts of Nigerian culture and on a larger scale, the African culture is exposed . The movie ends on a happy note.
Themes explored
Escape:
Many African immigrants left the continent seeking a better life in the diaspora. This movie explores this idea by sharing how Anyanwu escaped Nigeria, married a much older and wealthy man, and tried to build a life for herself in the United States. In order to maintain her lifestyle and pursue the life of the rich and fabulous, she finds herself throwing some of her morals away and this eventually led her down the road to prison.
Love:
This movie explores the concept of familial love. It explores how regardless of how ‘bad’ you are, you can always trust your sisters to be there for you.
Immigrant life:
The common complaint that is heard from many immigrants with ties to Africa is that there is an assumption that exists of how life is in the diaspora. Often times, it is a challenge that many face on if they should demystify this idea of the supposed easy breezy life in the diaspora and tell the story of their struggles. This movie goes out to show that often times things aren’t what it seems. It also touches on the issues of illegal immigration and the struggles that illegal immigrants face to take care of their family here as well as back home.
Rape and the culture of shame:
The major theme in this movie is one of rape and how rape affects more than the victim. It also discloses how Nigerian society with particular emphasis on the Igbo culture treats its Igbo rape victims and how often these women are abandoned because there seems to be no place for these women and their families to be treated, counseled and helped.
There are other themes addressed in this movie and you have to watch it to find them.
Yipee Points:
Child actresses – These children can act and it was simply amazing that they were able to speak their language fluently and with a lot of pizzazz. Their ability to act ensured that they were able to elicit emotions from the viewing audience while carrying us along with the story. Why are we so impressed by these child actresses? Because we are tired of seeing children who can’t act on our screen. I will suggest that before any child be put into any movie, that they be trained appropriately and that they be given roles based on their talents rather than who they are related to. These bad child actors and actresses have become a bane in our movies, often discouraging viewers of Nollywood from watching certain movies. Lest, I digress. Their acting was truly impressive and they deserve an award.
Story line/ Plot – Tight. Every scene followed a logical progression and none of them were out of place. All scenes made sense.
Subtlety: Ijé is very subtle when it explores the idea of the treatment of Nigerian immigrants in the diaspora. We see how Nigerian immigrants are treated by authority figures and surprisingly other immigrant groups that also have a history of racism, ethnocentrism and barriers.
Fashion: Their dressing was on point, the fashion designer deserves an award for making clothes that showcased African designs and prints.
Accent: okay, how many times have you found yourself scratching your head at some of the sounds that come out of Nollywood actors and actresses mouths in the name of speaking like educated Nigerians also known as speaking as Americans? In this movie, all the Nigerian actors and actresses spoke like Nigerians and as such they were believable and were able to carry the story along.
***Ijé deserves an A+ for breaking the culture of silence and shame around rape in Africa and the African diaspora. The objective of this movie is to get people talking about this issue and hopefully bring about a change in the mindset that rather than labeling and ostracizing those that have gone through this, that we find a way of inclusion and most importantly healing. Ijé is also extremely entertaining and the first Nollywood drama from the African diaspora that can clearly stand the test of times. This is the best movie that has been featured on this site, this year.
Ijé is being distributed in North America by Global African TV, which was recently founded to bring the best of mainstream African cinema to audiences in North America.
You can get a copy of this movie from Walmart buy clicking here: http://www.walmart.com
You can watch this movie instantly by clicking here:
This will make a great present during this season.
ps
Last Updated ( Saturday, 26 January 2013 04:44 )
pamelareviews 