A REVIEW OF “WHERE I COME FROM” (MOVIE)
OBSERVATIONS AND THOUGHTS
“Where I Come From” is a great piece with a very touching storyline in a typical African setting, especially in the suburbs or ghettos.
The movie is a direct campaign against addiction which are depression Bundles to most persons addicted to any addictive practices which ends up destroying them mentally.
I personally feel that with a storyline like this, it would have been more “real” and highly relatable if “Pidgin English” language (Pidgin) was used instead of just the English language. A movie of it’s magnitude, would have more impact if our day-to-day language, especially in the ghettos or slumps, where Pidgin is spoken the most. The gambling scenes in the movie are a great way to sell our cultural diversity and our day-to-day life in a language we best understand.
In my opinion, the constant use of the English language makes the movie a bit too formal and limits the chances of this movie standing the chance of being considered for a nomination in the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars as the African movie industry learned the hard way that foreign films where the majority of the dialogue is in English cannot qualify for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars as the Academy Awards has usually applied this requirement very seriously by disqualifying films containing too much English dialogue, the most recent case being that of the Nigerian film Lionheart (2019).
RED CARPET PHOTOS OF “WHERE I COME FROM” MOVIE PREMIERE
Not all movies are meant to win awards, but we all know that awards are a boost to the actors and producers as it makes them feel appreciated. We have seen some movies like “The Fisherman’s Diary” and “Saving Mbango” use such opportunities and used them well.
The characters selected for this movie were fit for this movie as they were all exceptional. Faith Fidel and Vugah Samson stole the show in my opinion. Vugah is certainly the best for the role he played, I can’t even think of anyone who’d play his part better.
In addition, the featuring of Witty Minstrel whom I think added an extra flair of brilliance in this movie with his part is the collaborative gesture we want to witness between the film and music industry. Additionally, the fact that the director does not bring in sexual violence to the storyline as in most ghettos, little girls like Mambi suffer from the hands of thugs and end up being raped or molested.
The scriptwriter, who had earlier made the viewers to believe that Mambi was this brilliant kid who’s IQ is really high and doesn’t really think she needed to attend school ends up going to school, which seals the deal that school is fundamental to community and social building. Mandi had been educated by her environment not school. At the end of the movie, lovert Lambert would disappear, revealing that he was just a guardian angel to Mambi.
In my opinion, the movie ended appropriately like most movies that would keep you in suspense, making you wonder what would happen next.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, “Where I Come From” summarizes the impact of what societal and environmental influence can cause on how we see and face life. ad the movies main message has to do a lot to with how we see and tackle the daily nuances of life and the decisions we make. The movies production team did their best to make the viewer feel the realness of the storyline. One cannot help but empathize with some of the leading characters.
RATINGS
I will happily rate the movie at 3 out of 5 with 5 being a perfect score. 3/5 not because it’s a bad movie, but because the storyline is told entirely in English, which prevents it from having a 5/5. But believe me, it’s a great piece to watch and others might agree to disagree with me and that is fine too.
