Movie review by Mava John Joshua
The expression; “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is often used to describe how children tend to inherit the characteristics of their parents. This saying usually points out the similarities between a parent and child, whether physical or personality traits. The movie ‘Obara’m’, tends to drive home this line of thought.
It begins with Oluchi (Nancy Isime) and her band performing live in a bar while the daughter Ihunaya (Darasimi Nadi) sings concurrently while going to school with her supposed father Humphrey (Nkem Owoh), with the sudden appearance of Fidelis (Deyemi Okanlawon) outside the bar with a disdain look at Oluchi then suddenly drives off creating an anticipation of what is to come.
Oluchi still young and naive after the birth of her daughter (a pregnancy she got while in Lagos) and unable to endure a life of poverty with her father and daughter in the village, takes off to Lagos again, leaving Ihunnaya behind in other to seek the good life through a struggling music career.
After 10 years, she returns to Ihunnaya’s life when a family tragedy strikes.
In the concluding part of the movie we see that the responsibility she has been evading catches up with her and she must come to terms with her past and assume the role of a mother and experience repentance to life and reconciliation with her daughter.
Obara’m is a thought evoking story, a true Nigerian drama with real-life situation that can easily be imagined. Furthermore, it has an awesome promising beginning as a film. The use of music and singing is beautiful in the beginning and executed in some scenes; this makes it a little different from a typical Nigerian movie.
‘Obara’m’ is a movie Nigerian mothers or maybe even mothers around the world would enjoy watching—chastising errant characters, marveling at the wits and talent of a child actor and accompanying emotional scenes with emphatic tears. In the village, Ihunnaya is an open secret, one which only she is oblivious of as she heartily calls her loving grandfather (Nkem Owoh) Pápá, been the only parent she has ever known.
Oluchi been Involved in a time of youthful exuberance and the chase of a good life in Lagos becomes pregnant with Ihunnaya, she pins the pregnancy on the man she assumes is best due to his wealth and best placed to give her and her daughter the best life, the good life she has been craving, but life has other plans.
Producer, Kayode Kasum and Executive Producers: Kayode Kasum, Dare Olaitan, Moses Babtope, Kene Okwuosa, Odumayo Eweniyi and Craig Shum and especially the Director deserve commendations for being able to keep the film together while focusing on the emotional facets of the story which are well captured: grief, love, remorse, and joy, especially in the way Ihunnaya reacts to a situation of grief. Her reaction is an apt portrayal of how an innocent 10-year-old child would act in her capacity and age in real time.
Obara’m has been in the works for the past seven months and the entire cast has only good things to say about working on the project. In a behind-the-scenes video, Nancy Isimi shared, she revealed that she couldn’t stop crying while reading the script. “I like to describe Obara’m as a story filled with soul. From the minute you pick it up till the end, you don’t even want to drop it. It’s such an emotional story and so much fun,” she said.
While Jude Tordue Ahom has this to say. “What can I say? Obara’m is a bubbling ray of sunshine. A story about love, redemption, parental sacrifice.”
While Obara’M was promoted as a musical, one can say it comes across more as a comedy with musical numbers not to mention the fact that the lip-synching of the actors and auto tune is so obvious and the Caveman, a real music band, featured in the film, is completely relegated to the background.
Nkem Owoh displayed another side of his acting aside the comic side in Obara’m. It was a mature Owoh the world saw in the movie.
