The Figurine

Three friends find a figurine reputed to have magical powers in a remote part of Nigeria and bring it back to Lagos. Suddenly their luck in life radically changes for the better, but when they meet again seven years later...

A brilliant film: it treats one of Nollywood's (Nigerian Hollywood) common themes - sorcery, witchcraft and the supernatural - in a novel way to ask questions about the nature of fear, and about the source of evil.

To lighten the suspense there are many wonderfully comic moments, multiple love interests, all played convincingly by a very talented cast. Could not recommend this highly enough!

A very good plot, a mix of suspense and superstition, predictable until the end, with a good plot twist, good performances, in love with the works of Kunle Afolayan, who always acts in his films, in which he directs, writes and produces, multifunctional ... Adorable...

So I thought the mythology behind the film was pretty interesting, and it's always interesting to have perspective from different cultures on different genres. They often add something new.

But it takes such a long time before anything starts to happen, and many of the things going on at first are all done by quite dull conversations. The film length is a longer one, so editing down would have probably helped a great deal. I can see what the film was trying to do, but it does drag out a lot which really spoils the enjoyment.

It has no production value, but I've seen much worse in that regard. It looks decent enough. My biggest issue with the film is honestly the pacing.

For the past several years, I have come across a number of reports telling about how the country of Nigeria has a successful domestic film industry. While that fact definitely intrigued me, I was unable to find any Nigerian movies available for me to look at until I stumbled upon this one on Netflix. To be honest, I was expecting something pretty crudely made, and to a large degree this is true. While there are some pretty good composed shots and/or direction that indicate that at times some real effort was being made by the filmmakers, the movie has far more shortcomings. The cinematography is unimpressive, there's very little in the way of production values, and the acting by many of the performers is amateurish. Actually, I might have been able to forgive all that had the movie's biggest problem did not exist, that being that it's far too long (121 minutes in length) and far too slowly paced. This is a story that really needed to be cut down either at the script stage or when the footage was being edited. There is a twist towards the end that's a little interesting (despite my ability to somewhat predict it before it unfolded), but it's too little and too late to make it worth sitting through a story that's too long and too slow. Still, if you have heard of Nigerian cinema and are curious about experiencing a sample of it, I've just told you of one possible accessible choice.

It's unfortunate that 'The figurine' hasn't gotten a great deal of attention outside of Nigeria, as it's a worthy view - a drama and thriller, with supernatural elements, that keeps us watching from start to finish.

The film follows two friends, just setting out in life, who find an abandoned shrine and a totem inside that local legend says will grant seven years of good fortune. The catch is that legend says seven years of bad luck will follow.

I stumbled onto 'The figurine' while searching for something else, totally unaware of the accolades and high regard this film has garnered in Nigeria and beyond. That I'd never heard of it otherwise speaks to the rank politics of cinema in the US, where any feature produced outside North America or the United Kingdom is blandly pigeonholed as an "international feature" and barely gets any press, let alone release. As is often the case, this movie deserves more broad consideration.

This is more of a character study than anything else. There is drama, and suspense, and a mild sense of unease pervades the latter half of the film as tension ramps up. The cast all perform very well in their roles to bring the screenplay to life. Despite the prominence in the narrative of the noted figurine, the real focus is on the tangled webs of the relationships and interactions between characters. And it's very engaging, especially leading into the climax.

There are no specific faults that come to mind, yet personally I just find that 'The figurine' doesn't entirely connect. I can't put my finger on it, but I was somehow expecting something more. It's very enjoyable, but despite the tension and suspense in the story, it ultimately also feels understated at the finale, like something is missing. Maybe that's just me, though; in any case, putting aside that minor misgiving, I've no detractions to make.

Even a cursory glance at material about the making of 'The figurine' illustrates the hard work that went into producing the film, and I'm pleased to say it all paid off. Cinema industries all around the world deserve more attention from viewers, and we should endeavor to expand our purview - and 'The figurine' shows that there's a wealth of good movies to discover in Nollywood.