Strangers

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this movie in Warri. I usually get angry at poor continuity in most Nigeria movies. A lady (sometimes men even of permitted) sometimes carry same hairstyle/nail polish throughout the movie that spans 3 years even in flashbacks. At other times it is a well manicured nail and artificial eyelashes for a supposed poor village girl. But in Strangers, this was addressed and I was most impressed by the consistency in Lateef's limping. Such was the attention to details. Superb action overall esp by Iheuwa, his wife, 'Busayo'. Top quality.

Nice plot. Beautiful acting. Production design was top notch. Directing was superb too. Soundtrack was 100%. An excellent Naija movie. Kudos to Inspaya Productions.

If there were a story on resilience that would be Strangers because Adetola's journey was an intense trial. The movie was very touching with a cast that really pulled out our emotions.

A few elements here and there didn't work, but overall Strangers is worth your time

DELICIOUS

-Let's just begin by saying THANK YOU for telling this story! Strangers addressed many themes but the ones we take home are generosity, resilience, and faith.

-A great cast selection 👏🏾 From Bimbo Oshin to all the supporting cast: job well done!

-Kudos to the costume designers who gradually transitioned the quality of outfits as the characters progressed in life

-The soundtracks were simply 😘

BLAND

-Strangers was presented more like a documentary than a film with many timestamps. The B-rolls were repetitive and didn't enrich the storytelling.

The movie could have had strong and inspiring dialogues in order to leave a big impact.

Chris Iheuwa and Ndamo Damarise were strugglinggg to deliver their French lines, made us wonder why the need to even be French speakers in the script 😓

-Lateef Adedimeji only got to be seen at 1h16min into the movie, so much that we forgot he was even part of it

-The lighting and color grading were unfortunately poor making the visuals not so appealing.

Additionally, continuity wasn't properly carried out, e.g. There was a scene where teenager Ade was crying and the friend comforting him got replaced by another person.

I recently had the pleasure of watching "Stranger," a Nigerian movie that features young actors taking on prominent roles. Set in the rural town of Ireti, the film showcases the flat landscape and plentiful plantations of the area. As someone who enjoys seeing more Nigerian films set in rural parts of the country, I was delighted to come across this movie.

Bimbo Oshin, who played a lead role in the film, was a nice surprise, and she did a fantastic job portraying her character. I was excited to see her on screen, as I hadn't seen her in many movies recently. Her performance is worthy of an AMVCA nod, but I'm not sure if the film is eligible for the present award season.

While watching the movie, I noticed a few errors, including the use of the new 100 naira note, which wasn't in circulation during the year the film was set. I also couldn't understand why Joseph acted as a translator for Adetola's mum when Dr. Macaulay, played by Chris Iheuwa, could speak three languages (albeit with halting French). Additionally, I wasn't impressed by how young Adetola's dreadlocks didn't grow throughout the years.

These inconsistencies could have been improved by a director with better attention to detail, but they don't detract from the story. However, Nollywood's obsession with fog machines is getting tiring to see, and I'd love to see better depictions of night shots, especially since this film was lacking in that regard. I also wasn't a fan of the dirty makeup look given to Adetola's mum, but I could tell that the film wanted to show off the makeup crew's work with its close shots of Adetola's wound. Finally, I wasn't a fan of the missionary message and acts in the film, but since they were relevant to the plot, I can't complain.

At the beginning of the movie, I thought I would be disinterested, but I became invested in the story of young and teenage Adetola. The story of adult Adetola wasn't as captivating, and his actions felt contrived, making the final parts of the film uninteresting. Teenage Adetola was subtly humorous, and young Adetola pulled off an impressive performance. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for adult Adetola, I appreciated the consistency in the facial features of the performers and their portrayal of Adetola's meek nature. The casting director deserves a nod for their decisions.

All three versions of Adetola faced obstacles in their lives, but their resilience and faith saw them through. These themes are central to the movie's message, which is one of perseverance. The film is direct and intentional, with cringe-worthy dialogue that could have been worked on during the screenwriting process. The soundtrack was also repetitive and became annoying at times. I also feel that the synopsis oversells the actual story in the film, and the title wasn't well-selected. The story is similar to the "Eze Goes to School" type of stories we were told to read in primary schools and had its motivational moments.