BATTLE ON BUKA STREET

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FUNKE AKINDELE TAKES A BREAK FROM THE NOLLYWOOD SCENE IN STYLE

In what she calls her farewell project as an actress as she crosses into politics, Funke Akindele has surely given Nollywood a project to end the year in Grand style! “Battle on Buka street” is out, and trust me this is one movie that has left everyone praising Funke Akindele and her Midas touch, Omo Ghetto: the saga still not forgotten in a hurry. Let’s get into what makes the movie flawless.

Battle on Buka street shows us the rivalry in a typical polygamous home. Centered around Yejide(Funke Akindele) and Awele(Mercy Johnson), who inherit hatred and rivalry from their mothers, they set out to destroy each other. Born on the same day and married on the same day, Mercy Johnson goes ahead to start a canteen right opposite Funke Akindele’s Amala store on Buka street.

The Maduka Family is a popular family in the Otanwa community but for nothing more than the rivalry between Mazi Maduka’s(Nkem Owoh) two wives, Asake (Sola Sobowale) and Ezinne (Tina Mba), who pass on this rivalry to their daughters Yejide and Awele right from the moment of their birth. The two teams of mother and daughter battle each other with gusto until both daughters get married. Awele moves out of Otanwa with her husband and there is temporary calm in the Maduka family and Otanwa community until Awele suddenly moves back and takes a shop opposite Yejide on Buka street.

The drama and ‘gbas gbos’ is premised on this as both rival sisters tend to outdo each other, and with ‘vawulence’ flying everywhere, viewers are left thrilled and entertained in a 2hr 21min running time movie, you’d just have to see events of this drama yourself.

The plot of  Battle on Buka street tends to be complicated but the directors have enough handle on it, and even though the main plot sometimes takes a backseat to set the premise for subplots, the entire story stays in sync. The main reason why the film progresses smoothly is because of sufficient exposition. It starts off with an extensive exposition nicely done in the form of a narrated flashback in the voice of Funke Akindele, and the history of the rivalry is narrated from its origins till present. This helps us to understand the nature of the characters and their motivations, making for a fulfilling experience.

The efforts put into making this a wonderful project are evident in all its aspects, the actions in each scene are executed well. Every scene strikes the chord that it should, evoking appropriate reactions in the audience, like the funny situations evoking enough laughter, especially the hospital scene where Maduka is caught in between his two birthing wives, which I consider as the height of comedy in the film. There is also a good representation of contemporary Nigerian culture, all nuances are properly depicted, like the dynamics in a mixed ethnic polygamous family, the relationship between children and parents, etc.

The quality of the technical aspect of the film is a subtle part of the film that could go unnoticed, the organization of each element enhances the experience of the film. The set design is well managed and nothing seems out of place. The cinematography captures the actions beautifully, used well as a storytelling tool while delivering aesthetically pleasing shots as well. Although overdramatic in some instances, the sound design adds another touch of quality, with interesting scores and sound effects.

The highlight of Battle on Buka Street is undoubtedly the acting performances. Funke Akindele’s performance leaves one ruing the fact that she might not grace our screens for a long while with her typical energetic performance and the ability to switch demeanor and show different sides of a character; Mercy Johnson displays a performance that depicts her wealth of experience in the profession by embodying her character well. Other actors like Bimbo Ademoye as younger Asake, Moshood Fattah, and veterans Nkem Owoh, Sola Sobowale, Tina Mba and the child actors are not left out, delivering efficiently in their roles.

Kudos to the make-up team, each cast had a real look with the make-up worn. Cinematography too was very on point. It can be very said that I left the cinema with “Battle on Buka street” living rent free in my head.

Star Performer(s)- Funke Akindele and Mercy Johnson

These two were the life of the drama, and oh yeah! Drama did they give us, we had a fill of drama and commotion spiced with great entertainment.

Can-do-better Performer- Nil

The director made a good pick of cast.