Flower Girl, a feature film on love escapades premieres in Lagos.
The day and time of the release of the picture struck very perfectly. Love hung loosely in the air as it is the case on the eve of St. Valentine’s Day. Like a perfect gift for lovers on the day, a film is scheduled for screening. At the lobby and ground floor of Silverbird Galleria, Lagos, guests chatted away over cocktail, waiting to be ushered into the cinema hall. The event was the premiere of Flower Girl; a film produced and directed by the American-trained filmmaker Mitchelle Bello.
For an industry constantly evolving, Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry should be proud of Flower Girl. To a very appreciable degree, the movie is a valid answer to critics who constantly throw darts at Nollywood, for what they perceive as a sclerosis that hampers the industry’s growth.
By
way of synopsis, Flower Girl is about a young florist, Kemi, who is
perpetually in dreamland, thinking about her wedding day. She is hopeful
that her long-term boyfriend Umar, will propose to her when he gets
promoted at work. The promotion comes. Umar, however, reneges on his
promise. Instead, he kicks her out. The damsel relapses into a dangerous
mood. While delivering flowers from her parent’s garden to customers,
she gets knocked down by a vehicle whose driver happens to be the city’s
star-actor, Tunde Kulani. While the actor battles to nurse her to
health, she relates her story to him. Both devise a plan to help her win
back Umar. The deal has future implications. Kemi, whose job as a
florist helps her to “Meet people on the happiest days of their lives
and I help them plan those days,” and the actor descend into in the
snare they set for Umar.
Beyond a near-rumpling of a flower girl’s heart, there are intriguing lessons to be learnt from the film. It could be taken as a study of individual and collective lives. We make promises but do we also deliver on the pledges? Does hard work and perseverance really pay? How do multinationals and other forces determine the quality of our lives? The story is also about Kulani’s Hollywood job and how the sponsorship of the movie he was supposed to play a role in while in America, threatens Umar’s job, thus necessitating the run-away lover’s return to a girl he had rejected. Flower Girl attempts to address some of these issues.
Some actors starring in the film are just emerging on Nigerian movie scene. Damilola Adegbite, the sassy wench who played Kemi Williams and Chuks Chukwjekwu male lead character who played Tunde Kulani are talents just blossoming. So also is Chris Attoh, who interpreted the cold character of Umar. The boisterous character of Stella or ‘Tella,’ as she sometimes calls herself is magnificently interpreted by Bikiya Graham-Douglas. Eku Edewor captivated viewers’ attentions with her superb mastery of her role as Kulani’s mistress and the spook sniffing out anyone who dares challenge her grip on her man.
Isn’t Nollywood constantly reinventing herself? The faces of Patrick Doyle, Teni Aofiyebi, Tosan Edremoda-Ugbeye, Jude Orhorha, all multimedia artists, in this flick answer the question in affirmative. A veteran in the showbiz circuit, Doyle’s role with Edremoda-Ugbeywe as Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Kemi’s dotting parents add vigour and maturity to the youthful effort of the other actors. Indeed, if the audience’ reaction during the premiere is anything to go by, then Flower Girl meets expectations of film lovers who waited patiently for its arrival. Apart from the standing ovation that the actors received as the credit note rolled on the giant screen, the hall was intermittently filed with sighs, screams, catcalls, verbal thumb-ups, in appreciation of good acting. These reactions sum the motivation, perfect blend of action, dialogue and special effects in the movie.
Graham-Douglas’ interpretation of her role is instructive. Self-respecting in real life, as Stella, she was a thorn in Kemi’s flesh- a loudmouth who never knows her place. She carries herself as an itinerant gossip-monger who barges even into her friend’s privacy whenever she has something to spread around.
As Mr. Williams, Doyle has an admirable way of nosing for information and a casual way of dispatching it too. He knows for instance, the gates for each day of the week, through which passengers depart the country at the airport.
Flower Girl is a radically new definition of romance films as has been the standard in Nollywood. This makes it a compelling watch for cinema goers across the country.
Despite its glamour and the spades of entertainment it offers, Flower Girl is not perfect. Lighting is a snag. At first notice, one thinks that a shade is deliberately used to give a special effect. But as it persists, this mistake shows that the handlers of the equipment fumbled. The nightclub scenes, Kulani’s home, the fight at the poolside all lack basic illuminations that could have complemented the action and dialogue. Perhaps, Lars Von Trier, the Danish avant garde filmmaker and a few others in his class can do this and escape without criticism, having passed all tests of flexibility and experimentation with their work.
The brawl at the poolside between Umar and Kulani, reveals a technical misjudgment. The fight occurs on hard marbled surface, hard blows amplified by sound effects, fling in all directions. Yet, the two men leave the scene without injuries, no swellings and perhaps little animosity.
These, however, do not deduct from the film’s overall romantic strength. For once, one is spared of the usual boy meet girl quick-fix stories that characterised Nollywood. With Flower Girl, those for whom Nollywood has been the butt of criticism can take a deserved break.
The day and time of the release of the picture struck very perfectly. Love hung loosely in the air as it is the case on the eve of St. Valentine’s Day. Like a perfect gift for lovers on the day, a film is scheduled for screening. At the lobby and ground floor of Silverbird Galleria, Lagos, guests chatted away over cocktail, waiting to be ushered into the cinema hall. The event was the premiere of Flower Girl; a film produced and directed by the American-trained filmmaker Mitchelle Bello.
For an industry constantly evolving, Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry should be proud of Flower Girl. To a very appreciable degree, the movie is a valid answer to critics who constantly throw darts at Nollywood, for what they perceive as a sclerosis that hampers the industry’s growth.
Beyond a near-rumpling of a flower girl’s heart, there are intriguing lessons to be learnt from the film. It could be taken as a study of individual and collective lives. We make promises but do we also deliver on the pledges? Does hard work and perseverance really pay? How do multinationals and other forces determine the quality of our lives? The story is also about Kulani’s Hollywood job and how the sponsorship of the movie he was supposed to play a role in while in America, threatens Umar’s job, thus necessitating the run-away lover’s return to a girl he had rejected. Flower Girl attempts to address some of these issues.
Some actors starring in the film are just emerging on Nigerian movie scene. Damilola Adegbite, the sassy wench who played Kemi Williams and Chuks Chukwjekwu male lead character who played Tunde Kulani are talents just blossoming. So also is Chris Attoh, who interpreted the cold character of Umar. The boisterous character of Stella or ‘Tella,’ as she sometimes calls herself is magnificently interpreted by Bikiya Graham-Douglas. Eku Edewor captivated viewers’ attentions with her superb mastery of her role as Kulani’s mistress and the spook sniffing out anyone who dares challenge her grip on her man.
Isn’t Nollywood constantly reinventing herself? The faces of Patrick Doyle, Teni Aofiyebi, Tosan Edremoda-Ugbeye, Jude Orhorha, all multimedia artists, in this flick answer the question in affirmative. A veteran in the showbiz circuit, Doyle’s role with Edremoda-Ugbeywe as Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Kemi’s dotting parents add vigour and maturity to the youthful effort of the other actors. Indeed, if the audience’ reaction during the premiere is anything to go by, then Flower Girl meets expectations of film lovers who waited patiently for its arrival. Apart from the standing ovation that the actors received as the credit note rolled on the giant screen, the hall was intermittently filed with sighs, screams, catcalls, verbal thumb-ups, in appreciation of good acting. These reactions sum the motivation, perfect blend of action, dialogue and special effects in the movie.
Graham-Douglas’ interpretation of her role is instructive. Self-respecting in real life, as Stella, she was a thorn in Kemi’s flesh- a loudmouth who never knows her place. She carries herself as an itinerant gossip-monger who barges even into her friend’s privacy whenever she has something to spread around.
As Mr. Williams, Doyle has an admirable way of nosing for information and a casual way of dispatching it too. He knows for instance, the gates for each day of the week, through which passengers depart the country at the airport.
Flower Girl is a radically new definition of romance films as has been the standard in Nollywood. This makes it a compelling watch for cinema goers across the country.
Despite its glamour and the spades of entertainment it offers, Flower Girl is not perfect. Lighting is a snag. At first notice, one thinks that a shade is deliberately used to give a special effect. But as it persists, this mistake shows that the handlers of the equipment fumbled. The nightclub scenes, Kulani’s home, the fight at the poolside all lack basic illuminations that could have complemented the action and dialogue. Perhaps, Lars Von Trier, the Danish avant garde filmmaker and a few others in his class can do this and escape without criticism, having passed all tests of flexibility and experimentation with their work.
The brawl at the poolside between Umar and Kulani, reveals a technical misjudgment. The fight occurs on hard marbled surface, hard blows amplified by sound effects, fling in all directions. Yet, the two men leave the scene without injuries, no swellings and perhaps little animosity.
These, however, do not deduct from the film’s overall romantic strength. For once, one is spared of the usual boy meet girl quick-fix stories that characterised Nollywood. With Flower Girl, those for whom Nollywood has been the butt of criticism can take a deserved break.
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