Movie Review: ‘Ile Ajoji’, Directed By John Oguntuase
Reviewed By Ajibare Abioye
I’m quite sure a number of us have embarked on a journey for a particular purpose, only for unforeseen circumstances to take us into a totally different course. I consider this the underlying concept behind “Ile Ajoji” – a brilliant one. Timothy and his group of evangelists encounter comical hindrances and that’s like Conflict 102 in screenwriting – throw your characters into an unpleasant situation and let’s see how they react. I commend this movie for that thought.
I would like to commend the acting in “Ile Ajoji” early on in this review. My favorite character was Oshuko played wonderfully by Awayino Seyinko Timothy; he’s not your everyday character. Likewise, Jide Ogunmilade put in a commanding performance as Eruapanada, a different kind of character to what we’re used to him playing.
Probably due to its runtime, “Ile Ajoji” was split in two for release on YouTube. The first part held some promise, but the concluding part moved at a rather slow pace; it momentarily felt like there was no end in sight. Focused storytelling is an asset in film production and one way to achieve this is through screening – road testing the story concept, getting feedback of the script from trusted, seasoned screenwriters and maybe bringing movie critics onboard to view the movie before release.
Subtitling is actually a task that could be cumbersome, yet requires conscientiousness. Being a subtitler myself, I understand all the hard work that goes into editing, only for you to begin the process of captioning right after. Nevertheless, putting three lines of dialogue on the screen at a time goes against their purpose – appearing on screen as dialogue is spoken, not before or after. That’s standard subtitling practice.
Despite these, “Ile Ajoji” is a powerful movie. In it, we see the supremacy of God to save, deliver, heal, renew and restore on display. The song that comes to my mind now is
Agbára Ọlọrun pọ (The power of God is great)
Agbára Ọlọrun pọ (The power of God is great)
O lana sórí òkun (He made a way in the Sea)
O wodi Jericho (He brought down the walls of Jericho)
The links to the movie are https://youtu.be/AcB_NKAGlSA and https://youtu.be/jakgCHhIS7M.
Till the next article, stay blessed!
Film Credits
ILE AJOJI (April 30 & May 6, 2023)
143 minutes
Unlimited Films Productions and Fruit Bearers’ Films
Cast
Ṣeun Adejumobi as Timothy
Ayo Olaleye as Odegbami
Jide Ogunmilade as Eruapanada
Awayino Seyinko Timothy as Oshuko
Stephen Oláwóore as Kunle
Crew
Writer
Awayino-Oluwa Seyinko
Cinematographer
Kunle Adepoju
Editor
Abidemi Emmanuel
Director
John Oguntuase
