A Place Called Happy

A movie can have the largest known budget, use the latest and best technologies, have the most renowned director and producer on the team and all these other things. However, if that movie has no feeling then the entire thing is (in the words of Chigul) “a weist!”.

A place called happy is definitely not a weist! The movie gets right into the storyline from the get go and with only 60 minutes of screen time it packs so much more emotion and content in than many movies have been able to in five parts.

This is the story of two couples, one in Ghana and the other in Nigeria. In Ghana, Abena is having problems with her boyfriend of six years, Kwame, because he seems to love his job more than he does her. In Nigeria, Dimeji and his wife are yet to recover from the loss of their daughter five years ago and this is taking a toll on their marriage.

The stories are simple. The events are simple. But the final result is drop-to-your-knees emotional. In only one hour of screentime, Lowladee is able to recreate that magic from “Brave” which is to draw you into the world of the characters. The mood is set as melancholic and everything reflects that mood – from the colors in the sets, to the colors in the clothes and the expressions on the actors’ faces.

The standout performance in this movie was definitely Blossom and not just because he is Blossom and looks like THAT! If there ever was a question about his skill, then this is the movie that debunks it. He is not just a pretty face and this is more than obvious in the scene where he narrates his daughter’s death. Sika Osei as Abena, did very well especially for a new actress. She was able to hold her own and not get overshadowed by Blossom, all the while creating a memorable character. Of course, there is definitely room for improvement but for a new actress it is impressive.

No singular actor carries this movie though because everyone was pulling their weight. You could tell that Mawuli Gavor was potentially the weakest link. However, his character wasn’t given so much attention that his performance would bring down the movie. The music was splendid, so much so that I have put the links up.

The star of the movie is definitely the writer who manages to start her story and end it without leaving any blank spaces or stretched scenes. The greatest appeal of the movie is that they are real people. Like I’ve said previously, my favorite movies are those in which there are no bad guys, only humans.