Editor’s Note:This movie review is based on the author’s personal viewpoint which might differ from person to person and does not reflect the views of TheHotJem.com. You are advised to watch the movie in it’s entirety as you might have a different opinion.
In January of 2021, The Fisherman’s Diary (TFD), a movie produced and directed by Cameroonians, Kang Quintus and Enah Johnscott, was submitted for consideration at the 93rd annual Academy Awards. As per Kang Quintus, his was the first Cameroonian picture to reach this milestone. This is not true. Notre Fille, a 1981 film by Daniel Kamwa, has this honor.
Furthermore, submission to the Academy for consideration is not indicative of a film’s quality, an attribute decidedly absent from many Cameroonian and Nigerian films. Nevertheless, TFD is an effort worthy of applause because at its foundation, it shows Cameroonian artists are willing to present their films amongst the best. Their film industry is sure to benefit from such an impetus.
Shot in Cameroon, this picture is the coming-of-age story of a 12-year-old girl, Ekah (played by Faith Fidel), who wants to get an education, and the men who stand in her way: her father, Solomon (played by Kang Quintus as the titular fisherman); her uncle, Lucas, (played by Cosson Chinopoh); and Sule (played by Neba Godwill), the man she’s forced to marry. In this regard, it speaks to the importance of women’s education while highlighting the oppressive nature of patriarchy. That it was inspired by Malala Yousafzai shows conversations are happening across cultures for the benefit of women, as well as an end to their historic marginalization the world over.
However, TFD, like many Cameroonian and Nigerian movies, suffers from an utter lack of quality. It has a porous storyline filled with a discordant crescendo of outdated cliches; each cliché is compounded with the melodramatic exaggerations of bad actors; and these exaggerations are captured in inarticulate scenes (poor shot angles and settings, amateurish use of multiple frame rates, etc.) which demonstrate a lack of directorial eloquence. Such was my conclusion after watching this much-talked-about movie.
TFD’s first failure was born in its script, one lacking in unity, clarity, and fails to make any allowances for character development. This is evident in the fact that we still do not understand the root of Solomon’s (Ekah’s father) anti-intellectual inclinations.
Was he of such a pusillanimous mind that his wife mocking his illiteracy would cause him to hate scholars?What did his wife study? What did she die of? Did she begin her education while she was pregnant with Ekah or after? What level of education did she achieve? Was her death tied to her academic ambition? Is Solomon’s hate for Ekah’s mother the reason he barely speaks to her while she’s dying?
Answers to these questions would’ve added flesh to the bones of this skeletal effort. If the audience understood the emotional trajectory of Kang Quintus’character, the script would have been fuller, richer, denser. The same can be said of the supporting cast; Lucas, Teacher Bihbih, and Sule, the man Ekah is forced to marry. These characters are presented as one-dimensional caricatures, hampering their ability to articulate the emotion required to convince the audience of the film’s probability.
