False Flag

It’s been a while since we last saw and reviewed a Yoruba movie for various reasons but we can’t think of a better Yoruba movie to start us back than False Flag.

In False Flag a 35 year old man, played by Gabriel Afolayan, who had previously refused to get married meets and falls for a young lady Wunmi, played by Aisha Lawal. At first she is brash and abrasive but overtime they build a relationship with each other.

The movie is an interesting play that helps you truly appreciate the things that work and those that do not. It is clear that is not necessarily the highest budget film when you look at the sets and the walls and some of the angles, but then again it did not need the highest budget. The movie had a secret weapon in the person of Gabriel Afolayan. This small man has the energy of a transformer and almost literally drives this movie forward. He makes his scenes with Lawal organic, so even though you want to cringe or point out flaws you are still being swept off your feet alongside the female lead. Lawal as our female lead was difficult to like. It’s hard to discern whether that’s just because the character was such or simply poor performance. There was definitely room for improvement but she does well enough to send the message.

As far as originality and predictability go, if you take the time to ask yourself questions while watching the movie then you could have definitely seen the end coming. Regardless, “False Flag” is a sweet little movie that doesn’t force things as much as your usual Yoruba movie would.

Then there was the ending. As far as endings go, it almost seems like the movie was determined to be sad so the sad ending was patched on at the last moment to achieve this purpose. It felt unnecessary but I guess it all adds to the bigger message that the movie is trying to send.