In a country where over 60 million of its population are involved in sports betting, it is fascinating to see a movie that explores what goes on behind the scene in the lives of those who bet and those who run the betting companies. Interwoven with the religious side of life, The Prophetess explores the concept of prophecies, this time, giving a unique perspective into how hard work is a crucial determinant of a prophecy’s fulfilment irrespective of its authenticity.
As it is our culture, we had our minds and eyes fixed on getting the best and probably outstanding use of elements out of this movie. Here are the noteworthy elements that stood out for us:
Plot
A very brilliant plotting is observed to be at play in The Prophetess. Written and directed by the award-winning director, Niyi Akinmolayan, the plot was carefully crafted to mirror several societal truths: the themes of love and forgiveness within a family; religious sentiments that lead to decision-making; employer-employee relationships; mob mentality; social media trolling and sports fandom. It is also very interesting how the writer subtly revealed the detrimental state of our local football clubs and the neglect of past heroes and football icons. We found the interwoven plotlines enlightening and well incorporated.
Characterization & Casting
The movie featured a realistic mix of different types of people in life – a wide variety of people with different backgrounds, different ambitions and different lifestyles. We saw the struggles and challenges of real people with real emotions, doing what everyday people would normally do. From the high class to the low class, from the tech-savvy to the inept, from the educated to the uneducated, the characters were not misplaced and were found in their natural elements, down to the details of their looks and mannerisms.
Exemplifying the characters’ personalities, we’d like to think no one could have done it better than the actors who played each role. Having the lead actress, Toyin Abraham and the likes of Kehinde Bankole and Lateef Adedimeji, and other veteran actors brought life into those scenes and got the buzz out of us.
Location
Primarily situated in the city of the brown roofs, Ibadan, The Prophetess has an authentic and well thought location choice. Ibadan is rich in history. The director explored the city’s historical heritage by capturing popular and significant locations like the Liberty stadium, Mapo Hall, and a few others. The choices of the individual homes of the characters were also well made, with a clear representation of and the distinction between the rural and urban communities.
Music and Sound
The originality of the musical compositions of this movie was a delight to the ears. The creation of a character song for “Fogo Bombastic” was brilliant, and so were most of the instrumentals used. At other times, the music was a rich blend of some known Yoruba songs. Some might say that Yoruba people would enjoy and relate to the music more because of this, however, ethnicity is not a barrier to enjoying the ambience created by the music at different points in the movie.
The crisp and clear sound output is also worthy of note. Seemingly regular sounds like crunching of pepper – a mannerism by one of the characters – were amplified for a stronger effect.
Cinematography
The Prophetess is proof that a movie doesn’t have to be shot at an exotic location to have captivating cinematography. The director demonstrated a good understanding of picture compositions and shots that worked well to tell the story. We enjoyed the infusion of on-screen social media pop-ups as they were hilarious, very realistic, and contributed to the story’s development.
These five elements stood out for us in this movie, and we hope you found them remarkable as well. You think otherwise? Let us know your thoughts. See you in the next movie review.