Hakkunde

It’s a new era for nollywood. An era that encourages diverse audience types. An era of brave filmmakers who stray from the typical. An era in which we make films like Hakkunde.

Hakkunde, is really the story of Akande, a young Animal Science graduate who lives in Lagos but is unable to successfully secure a job after many years of searching post graduation. Akande, played by Kunle Idowu, then hears of a government grant in Kaduna for farmers and chooses to relocate over in order to cash-in on the opportunity. When that no longer pans out, he is forced into thinking up more creative avenues of survival.

The movie touches on various themes in its brief 98 minute run time. It extends from the plight of the Nigerian youth, the necessity in the society to think outside the box in order to survive, codeine abuse, familial abuse, sickle cell anemia, the importance of community and so much more. The biggest struggle while watching this movie is that 98 minutes is barely enough time to create a strong message about just one of those themes talk-less of all of those themes. So at the end of the film that is enduring feeling that you are floating above the surface of greatness without ever actually getting into the trenches with it.

The initial intrigue of this film is the casting. The role of Akande, a dramatic hero, being played by Kunle Idowu who is best known for his comic role as Frank Donga is an eye-lid raising sort of move. After the initial jolt, you realize that Hakkunde is more than just jarring for the sake of being so. In this role, Idowu gets a chance to show that his skill extend beyond comedy and he does a decent job of this. He still incorporates sparse moments of that Donga-style comedy, that we’ve all come to know and love, in a manner that no one else would have been able to pull off. In the initial scenes, like when he responds to the young lady going to Ilesha, the timing is pristine and the response elicited by his timing plus the directing fits like a square peg in a square hole. However, as the movie progresses and Idowu’s Donga moments show up (like in the classroom scene with Sadau), the jokes don’t always deliver as smoothly.

Idowu’s foray into drama isn’t without its flaws either. In most scenes he is sufficient, however, he is not enough to hold this film from start to finish. The movie starts off slow and at no point does it pick up. Eventually, your desire to see a struggling character have a ‘win’ becomes the primary motivating factor to continue watching. There are aspects of the story that could have been highlighted better to create a stronger investment in the audience. The awareness of Hakkunde’s failures post-graduation was created and passed on clearly in this film; it is just my wish that other aspects of his story had the same clarity and created the same audience investment. These other aspects I speak of include Akande’s teaching moments in Kaduna, his journey to success with manure-tea, his final success moments and his romance with Aisha. These things were touched on in the film efficiently enough for the point to get across but not efficiently enough for the audience to pitch tent and feel invested.

The art of this movie is inescapable. From the gorgeous shots of Kaduna (a welcome change in Nigerian film locations) to the color grading of the film. Beautiful doesn’t even begin to cover the aesthetics of this film. The shots and cinematography are one for the books but the production is not without its flaws. There are continuity issues in the scenes themselves and continuity issues within the story as well, as already mentioned.

One story win, that could have been a bigger win if done better, was the community feeling. When Akande moves to Kaduna and lives with Ibrahim’s family there are many little moments of social interaction between Akande and the family that foster this “let’s all hold hands” mood that I wish the movie had done more for. They attempt to cash in on that again towards the end in the news-watching scenes but even then it feels more detached and less authentic.

By the time, the end roles around there is a sustained feeling that a lot of this movie, and a lot that would have made this movie greater, was left on the chopping board to meet time constraints. Having said that, the movie can still be appreciated for what it is. A work of art. A victory for the non-traditional Nigerian filmmaker and a starting sample of what more the Nigerian film industry can create when given the right tools.