Far From Home

There was the Spanish series, “Elite”. There was the Indian Version, “Class”. And nollywood also has its own version in “Far From Home”

Far From Home is the story of Ishaya (Mike Afolarin), a poor young painter from Isale Eko who dreams of training as an apprentice under his guru (Deyemi Okanlawon) in London. The issue becomes a question of how he will fund the whole endeavor. Somewhere in between helping his sister to get into her dream school, The Wilmer Academy, and helping his mother with her cleaning job. He happens on details that allow him admission into the school on scholarship. He pays his application fees with money that he steals from his boss (Government and Oga Rambo – the not-so-friendly neighborhood drug Lords). Now, he finds himself having to sell drugs in school in order to repay his debt.

Far From Home is a visual delight to watch. The makers are able to balance the grit and grime of Isale Eko against the glitz and glam of Island living. The shots, the sounds, the angles, the set pieces and everything in between come together beautifully to sell the idea that Far From Home is not your typical nollywood show. This point is further buttressed by the actors. Mike Afolarin as Ishaya brings a great balance of frustration and relentlessness to the character. There are certain scenes where it is clear that he is striving for something he is just not yet able to give, however, as the series goes on one can never accuse him of dragging behind. Elma Mbadiwe as our rich girl, Carmen, truly embodies the role to the extent that one might actually think this is her age group and how she spends her daily life. Same can be said for most of the other actors, talent was not lacking.

However, same cannot be said for originality. Every character and plot device here from the rich girl dating the popular boy who treats her badly, to the pool parties saturated with drugs, and the fancy school dance are all elements that are lifted hook, line and sinker from your typical Disney channel film (I’m talking High School Musical). The loyalty to the source element “Elite” is so jarring that one might begin to question if the goal is even for the audience to see this as a Nigerian school.

Truly truly the happenings in this series are a series of unfortunate events. But that’s not the only series of things going on here. Far From Home is a series of convenient plot devices. It is the story of how whatever plot device needs to be inserted into a scene to push the story towards the desired end will always be inserted into the scene regardless of how much sense it does not make. If you have watched this series, one question you might find yourself asking from start to finish is “how old are these guys supposed to be?” Particularly, how old is the character of Adufe (Gbubemi Ejeye) that empowers her to fluidly go from dating Ishaya (a secondary student) to dating Oga Rambo, an older drug Lord?

However, if you somehow stop over reasoning it and return to the aforementioned Disney channel movie analogy, you will find that Far From Home is quite an enjoyable watch. It is a testament of what nollywood has the capacity to do when pushed. The hope now is that someone will push us into hiring next generation writers.