100 Movie Project - The Lost Okoroshi
The following post contains spoilers for The Lost Okoroshi.
I heard about this Nigerian film from one of those movies to watch now lists somewhere and decided to check it out. Netflix is full of interesting foreign films but sometimes they can be kind of hard to discover so when an interesting one gets recommended to me, even by the internet, I try to check it out. Plus I’d never seen a Nigerian movie before.
The movie is about a disenchanted security guard, Raymond, who lives outside of Lagos. Every day he listlessly gets up, changes, and gets a bike into the city to work, where his boss doesn’t respect him and his job is unfulfilling (well that’s relatable…). Back home he regularly talks to an older neighbor who believes in the old spirits and religions of Nigeria, which Raymond doesn’t much believe in. Then one morning he wakes up seemingly taken over by one of the spirits, or Okoroshi. I may be misusing the term Okoroshi here to be honest. I’m unsure if it’s the general term for spirits or the specific spirit that possessed him.
The big problem I had with the film was that I felt I just didn’t quite understand it. This of course was no fault of the film. It expected a level of understanding of Nigerian customs and culture and religions that I just didn’t have. That being said I still enjoyed it.
Most of what I watch is typical Hollywood fare, that is to say quite polished. This film had a grittier indie feel to it that was a nice change of pace from what I’m used to. The dream scenes that took place in the spirit world had an appropriately trippy quality to them. They seemed just slightly out of focus and the spirits seemed to drag a little as they moves, like it was shot at a lower than normal shutter speed. Both of these really helped you feel those scenes. They stood out a lot and really sort of transported you into the dream.
One of my favorite parts was when Raymond was talking to his neighbor by his house. I felt that it sort of showed the contrast between the past, represented by the neighbor, and the present, represented by Raymond. The neighbor still believed in the old beliefs and religions and he talked about them to Raymond who just brushed them off. He was a younger guy living in the present and doesn’t really have time for the old man’s legends.
The locations were good but nothing really stood out. I assume it was all filmed on location so it was definitely authentic. There was a really good contrast between the more rural area a little outside the city where Raymond lived and the sprawling city of Lagos where he worked. It sort of mirrored the contrast between Raymond and his older neighbor.
I also liked the acting, although like I mentioned in the Blade Runner post there was nothing that blew me away. Seun Ajayi did well playing Raymond as sort of weary of his job but without much choice. As someone who also has to work I could relate. Judith Audu also did a good job as Raymond’s wife Nneka being incredibly confused, to the point of hysteria, when Raymond transformed into the Okoroshi.
The subplot after he transformed where a guy he met was sort of hustling with him was also enjoyable. Raymond/Okoroshi would dance then he’d collect money. I have to wonder if there was more to the scenes after he transformed that I didn’t understand because of my lack of understanding of Nigerian culture and religion. Even considering that possibility I did enjoy the movie.
The first indie/foreign film is in the books and I enjoyed it. I’m definitely excited to watch more indie and foreign films since I feel like I won’t have any expectations going in. I feel like I have lots of expectations for classics like Blade Runner, Taxi Driver, or Heart of Darkness. But with indie and foreign films I have no idea what to expect.
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