The Midwife

I saw the first couple of scenes from ‘the midwife’ and I thought it was going to be an Nkem-Owoh-ish film, and as I have a natural aversion to Nollywood comedies I stashed the movie away. Until recently I saw a clip from the sequel (Sinful Heart) and loved it. So I googled (google is such an indispensable tool) and realized that it was the same movie. I watched the entire 6 parts in one day (don’t judge), turns out that it was a pretty decent movies.

When it comes to six part movies, I still believe they are a ridiculous concept especially in this fast paced era we live in. However, some made-in-Asaba movies will make you forget all cinematic movies put together. Some six part movies are fantastic (read: “Drop of Blood“) whilst others are questionable (read: “Twins on Fire“), and this one is somewhere in between.

For all its dragged out scenes and overly prolonged song sequences, it’s still an entertaining movie. Devoid of everything (well most of the things) that aggravate modern Nollywood viewers: unnecessary sex, unnecessary sex and unnecessary sex (well basically, all allusions to sex from gesture to clothing). It’s a storyline that you can sit and watch with family members. The characters are lovable except those who aren’t. The villains are easy to place and it’s just a simple movie.

However, it seemed a bit oversimplified as its simplicity worked against it review-wise. Again Patience Ozokwor is cast as the main source of evil, although her evil is toned down a bit in this movie as her son, played by Mike Ezuruonye, shares some of the evil glory. The story is predictable and unoriginal. It boasted of way too many song sequences (I mean… even if na Bollywood film. 10 minutes for one song? The devil is a liar). Background noises in some scenes. The absolute lack of subtitles for all the Igbo spoken in this movie. Oversimplified lyrics and soundtrack as a whole. Weak extras here and there. Bad lip syncing  Random video darkening. Inability to see in the night scenes… need I go on?

Yet, I must commend Mama G and Mike Ezuruonye: a fantabulous performance as the villains. Chinwe Owoh plays the victim so many times that I’d be frightened to see her in a bad role. Like I’ve said a million and one times over, there’s something about Nuella Njubigbo movies that you can rely on. If I had a movie with Mercy J in it, another with Nadia in it, and a third with Nuella, I’d probably go with Mercy first lol but I’d always come back to Nuella movies because you can always rest assured that the movie will have a good story if she’s in it.