Kunle Afolayan’s movie October 1 was screened at the Ritzy Brixton on Monday 3rd November 2014 as part of the Royal African Society’s Annual Film Festival. Babso.org was priviledged to send its Associate Reviewer Naimat Timson to watch and review the movie. I delayed the publication of this review till I saw the movie myself as there were too many positives and I wanted to be sure that I was publishing the correct facts. I have now been priviledged to watch the movie and can now publish the review written by our Naimat Timson.
When I first heard about the movie while in post-production, like every other person she thought it was based on the Nigerian independence until she saw the trailer. I have been following Kunle’s work since his first production, Irapada in 2006, The Figurine in 2009 and Phone swap in 2012 and in her opinion one thing that I noticed about all his movies is that he always takes each movie one notch above the previous one creatively.
Storyline: It’s September 1960, and with Nigeria on the verge of independence from British colonial rule, a northern Nigerian Police Detective, Dan Waziri played by Sadiq Daba, is urgently dispatched by the Colonial Government to the trading post town of Akote in the Western Region of Nigeria to solve a series of female murders that have struck horror in the hearts and minds of the local community. On getting to Akote, more murders are committed, and with local tension high and volatile, Waziri has a race on his hands to solve the case before even more local women are killed.
Set against the backdrop of the national celebratory mood of the impending independence, Waziri is pulled into a game of cat and mouse as he and the killer try to outwit each other leading to the climatic end in which the life of a popular local female teacher and village belle, Tawa played by Kehinde Bankole, is held in the balance. Waziri has to race against the clock to capture the killer, save Tawa and solve the crime before the British flag is lowered and the Nigerian flag raised on Independence Day October 1.
In my view, the storyline was excellent. I believe this was a worthy story that needed to be told and I commend the scriptwriter and the cast for telling the story in a unique way.
Cast: The cast included Sadiq Daba as Inspector Waziri, Demola Adedoyin as Prince Aderopo (the Kings only son and first Akotean to Graduate from the University), Kehinde Bankole as Miss Tawa (prince Aderopo’s childhood friend whom his has a special interest in), Kayode Aderupoko as Sergeant Afonja, Kanayo O. Kanayo as Okafor, Ibrahim Chatta as Sumonu, Femi Adebayo as Banji, Kunle Afolayan as Agbekoya (the farmer full of mystery), David Bailie as Ackerman, Nick Rhys as Winterbottom, Colin David Reese as Father Dowling, Lawrence Stubbings as Tunkine and Ifayemi Elebuibon as Baba Ifa and Deola Sagoe as Funmilayo Ransome Kuti and Fabian Adeoye Oladejo(of Jacobs cross) played Corporal Omolodun a well-educated personnel so optimistic and driven amongst others.
I have to commend the entire cast. This was a collaboration with British actors forming part of the cast to tell the story. I must also commend the Director and Casting Director for bringing a mixture of experience ranging from Kunle Afolayan himself to the likes of Sadiq, a versatile actor before the days of Nollywood to the likes of Kanoyo, Ademola and Kayode who as I said earlier was a well-educated personnel so optimistic and driven but will leave you all guessing and the likes of Kehinde. All I can say is that the cast was well balanced and produced what can be called a wonderful movie.
Picture Quality: The pictures for most parts of the movie were clear and the cinematography projected the intent of the movie. As a movie showcasing the pre 1960’s, I would have liked to see a lot of more black and white scenarios and less of technology to depict that era in Nigeria. This is only to make the movie more believable and more relevant. Having said that, there was nothing wrong with the picture. They were not out of frame and generally good.
Sound Quality: In my view, the sound quality was good for the context of the movie. Unlike in most movies, there were no noticeable external sound interferences. In my view, the sound effects used in various scenes were also good. On the whole, I would not say the sound was excellent but compared to most Nollywood movies and bearing in mind the movie was shot in Nigeria and in remote areas, the sound was good.
Overall performance: I was so impressed with the level of professionalism and experience that was shown in the entire production. This included the directing, the script (written by Tunde Babalola) and I believe that the entire production was ridden with excellence and was well executed. The movie was very easy to follow. I exceptionally love how the writer infused different tribes and languages in Nigeria. Also, all the locations that were used in the movie were on point.
From production to post production, there was consistency and the transition was smooth. As stated earlier there was depth and meaning to the script. While I commend the Director for a job well done, there was a snag in the script and that was the cat was let out of the bad too soon. The suspense was broken before the end of the movie and it became obvious who the killer was.
Worthy of note is that October 1 has gotten the interest of Netflix for digital download and viewing, this is a great achievement for the Nollywood industry.
As a movie critic, I will have to say this is one great movie, and I would be recommending it both when it premiers in the United Kingdom and when it goes on Netflix so you can get enjoy it first-hand. (At the time of publishing this review, October 1 and other Nollywood Movies are now on Netflix). October 1 will be premiering within the next couple of months or sooner information will be made available soonest, watch this space.
Watch the trailer:
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