NOT STYLE BUT LIFE

Director: Lekan Asikia
Writer: Lekan Asikia
Producer: LADTEM Films
Release Date: 2004
Genre: Satire
Plot: a hunter by the name Jesulagba (Segun-Kolade Okeowo) finds an abandoned baby in the forest. He takes the baby to the village head who tells him to care for the child. Though a widower, Jesulagba takes up the challenge and teaches the child in the way of the Lord. The child grows up loving the Lord and frequently spends his time preaching and praying. Twenty-five years later, the child, now Pastor Ayomide Adebola (Rotimi Amodu), is seen preaching in his church. He has become a great and dynamic minister whose church building cannot even contain the entire congregation. Pastor Adebola, however, does not have a happy home. Though he has a loving and dedicated wife, he is insensitive and uncaring. Meanwhile, a young man by the name Chris is seen with his gang mates deciding on their next robbery target. Pastor Adebola is selected and Chris is assigned to do the penetration since he has Christian background. He seeks employment with Pastor Adebola as a driver, and the pastor accepts him in spite of warnings from both his wife and Baba Jesulagba. Baba advises him on several issues; he should always be accompanied by his wife to functions, he should set up a church council to manage the affairs of the church, and he should preach to his driver. Well, pastor listen to all, but adopted none.

Mrs. Adebola (Busayo Asikia), the pastor’s wife, and Gbolu, his son, discuss the bible with Chris during his spare time, and this makes it difficult for him to strike as planned. On the final day scheduled for the robbery, Gbolu preached to Chris and he gave his life to Christ. As a result of this, he denounced his membership of the gang and moved permanently into the pastor’ house.

Pastor Adebola goes for a personal retreat but mistakenly leaves his mobile phone behind. His wife sends Chris to take it to him at his hotel room. When Chris discovers that the pastor is having an affair, he becomes discouraged and abandons the Christian faith to return to his gang. That same night, Pastor Adebola reconsiders his ways. Chris on the other hand joins his gang for an operation and loses his life in the process. The pastor confesses to Baba Jesulagba and his family, and baba instructs him to make a public confession, which he did. This leads to members leaving his church. Finally, Pastor Adebola is arrested for the death of the lady he had the affair with, who died as a result of an abortion.

Theme: It is not the appearance that matters, but the life of Christ in a man. Matt 23:28 “Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity”

Main Casts: Rotimi Amodu, Busayo Asikia, Segun-Kolade Okeowo and Lekan Asikia

Country: Nigeria

Language: English

Quotes: the quote I find particularly significant in this movie is an excerpt from the scene where Pastor Adebola confessed to Baba Jesulagba.

Jesulagba: you are full of the styles of Christ, but the life of Christ is not embedded in you…

Pastor Ayomide Adebola: I am finished baba.

Jesulagba: it is better to be finished for Christ to begin afresh in you.

Cinematography:

Shots: Most of the major shots were used in this movie. Nevertheless, there seems to be a preference for medium shots, because they were used more than the others. I also noticed the use of extreme close-up shot (EX CU) at the scene where Pastor Adebola received a call about the death of Tope, his mistress. There was an EX CU of the mouth of the caller so that we couldn’t identify him. My guess is that this was done so as to deemphasize the individual. This means that the focus was on the message and not on the messenger.

Angle: Medium angle was dominant in the movie though other angles were also used. For instance, low angle was used in the scene where Pastor Adebola was ministering at his church. The camera was positioned in such a way that we were looking up at the pastor. This effect is usually used to create a feeling of superiority. The pastor has a great ministry and is respected by everybody; hence, they look up to him while he is placed above them. High angle was used in the scene immediately after the church scene when pastor and his family drove into their compound. At that point, it seemed as though we were watching the scene from above. Though the angle was not sustained for long, it almost created a sense of detachment from the action below.

Transition: sharp zoom-in and out were used for flash back when Ifalogbon was thinking about his predicaments. Dissolve was used in the scene where Ifalogbon and Odeloba were fighting. The scene dissolved into the next one where Ifalogbon was asking Jesulagba for his secret. This transition was used to show the passage of time. Dissolve was also used in the church scene. The interior of the church during the sermon was dissolved to the exterior of the church after the service. Again, this was used to show the passage of time. It saved us the trouble of watching the entire service.

Camera Movement: Dolly-in was used in the church scene where Pastor Adebola was preaching. This effect is usually used to create a sense of intimacy. It allows the audience to enter into a viewing space which was initially viewed from a distance. It created the effect of us walking through the church and observing the happenings. Pan was also frequently used in that same scene to observe the audience. Pan left is often used for discovery, and considering that we saw the pastor before we saw the audience, we can say that the left pan served its purpose. Hand held camera movement was used in the scene where police pursued Chris and his gang. This effect helps to create a troubled feeling that unsettles the audience. The camera moved roughly to signify movements of people running.

Camera Speed: Medium camera speed was maintained throughout the movie

Costume: Day-to-day costume was used mainly in this movie, though one can categorize the outfits of the hunters as special costumes.

Makeup: Majority of the characters in Not Style but Life had straight makeup on. However, mama (Chris’ mother) wore a character makeup and so did Jesulagba. The makeup transformed the actors into old characters.

Reflections: Anointing is not a substitute for character. The power of God upon the life of a man is for service. Pastor Adebola was much anointed, but he could not manage his family. He also lacked self-control. From his resistance to setting up a church council, and the affair he had with the church choir leader, it is my opinion that he seems quite comfortable with vices.

There is nothing hidden that will not be exposed. It doesn’t matter how well we try to hide the sins in our lives, they will definitely come out. Sin is like a cub (young lion), beautiful while young and deadly when old.

As Christians, our lives affect the people around us. We are the bible that people read. Chris and the choir leader lost their lives because of the pastor’s carelessness.

Finale: the movie ended with Pastor Adebola’s arrest. True, he repented and confessed publicly, but the consequences of his sins didn’t just disappear. The bible says in Gal 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."


Thanks for staying around. It has been another great time with you. Be on the lookout for the next one. Please post your comments so that I can know what you think about this write up. You can also recommend any Christian movie you want us to put on our micro film. God bless you.

MY CONCLUSION

Director: Shola Mike Agboola

Writer: Shola Mike Agboola

Producer: EVOM World Network

Release Date: 2007

Plot: Akinyele is an unemployed Christian brother. He is so depressed because he believes that God is unfair to him and that his efforts in God’s vine yard have been rewarded with stagnation. Henry sends for him. Henry is another Christian brother but who is on a wheelchair. While awaiting Henry, Yele reflects on his woes. He remembers how Denis, his unbelieving friend, came to his house to inform him that they have both been shortlisted for a job interview. Denis was positive about the job but Yele believed it would be another disappointment; after all, he has been to nine interviews already that year. Denis was amazed at his unbelief since Christians are supposed to have faith particularly since the bible says nothing is impossible for God. Back to the present, Henry comes out of the room and is surprised to confirm that Yele was in church on Sunday but didn’t come out to receive his award as the most dedicated church worker. Yele says that the award is meaningless to him because he has received it back-to-back for the last four years. He doesn’t know the use of the award from the church if Christ Himself does not appreciate him. In a bid to convince him otherwise, Henry tells his own story. He lived in New York for 11 years and had a very good job, but his desire to preach the gospel to his people back home led him to decide on spending his annual leave in Nigeria. Unfortunately, he was involved in an accident that confined him to the wheelchair. After all efforts to correct his medical condition failed, he decided to stay back in Nigeria to encourage the emotionally distressed. After listening to this story, Yele becomes encouraged and decides to trust God again. He even promises to prepare for his coming interview (which he had earlier on decided not to attend) with three days of prayer and fasting.

The result of the interview is released and Denis gets the job while Yele didn’t. He immediately becomes disappointed in God again. While expressing his disappointment to the pastor, he is told that someone left him a cheque of a large sum of money to start a business. Of course, Yele starts to confess God’s faithfulness immediately. Henry leaves for a mission trip and his wife stays at home to take care of little Daniel. Yele goes to the bank to cash his cheque but is attacked by armed robbers who besieged the bank. This leads to him relinquishing his position as the HOD of Evangelism and Follow-up. The news also comes that Henry’s wife and son have been kidnapped by the robbers as their car was used for the quick getaway. Worse still, the car collided with a stationary oil tanker and exploded, thus killing everyone onboard. Henry is brought back from the mission field to face this new challenge of life. In the mist of all these, Yele draws the conclusion that God is unfair and unkind. So what did Henry say? He says that his conclusion is that God is good. Soon after, two police men come into break the news that God mysteriously saved the woman and her son. Overwhelmed with joy, Henry tries to praise God in a new way and ends up standing out of the wheelchair. The movie ends with an exhortation from the pastor on how to trust God during trials.

Theme: In all things give thanks, 1Thes 5:18. If you faint in the days of adversity, you strength is small, Prov. 24:10

Setting: The movie has a contemporary setting based in Nigeria and New York

Main Casts: Peter Aina, Shola Mike Agboola, Oyetunji Oyewale and Jose Davilson

Language: English

Quotes: This is an excerpt from the scene involving the pastor and the angel. It is my personal favorite.

Pastor: When is God’s time?

Angel: Now!

Pastor: But why is it not happening for bro Yele now?

Angel: God’s definition of now is different from man’s definition of now. In God’s language, there is nothing like too late and nothing like too early. He is a God of punctuality that is why He is called the ever present need in times of trouble.

Sound Track: The theme song was written by Ruth Komolafe

Title Sequence: While the names of the crew were being displayed at the beginning of the movie, the image that could be seen at the background was a cloudy sky. Later, it starts to rain. The title sequence was actually a part of the movie because acting began while the names were still being written. We were taken into a house with leaking roof.

Cinematography:Shots: most of the major shots were used for this movie. Nevertheless, I particularly like the use of CU (close up). I noticed that every time there was a flash back or a reflection, the camera zooms in to a CU on the face of the character. This gives us the opportunity to see the emotion in the eyes of that character. It is like penetrating into his minds.

Angle: the movie began on a high angle. Towards the end of the title sequence, the interior of a house was shown. It was raining and the house was flooded because the roof was leaking. The shot was a high angle of a girl mopping the floor. Since high angles are used to create a sense of inferiority, the lowliness of the family living in that house was made glaring. Apart from this, eye-level or mid-angle was maintained most of the time in the movie.

Transition: a flashlight effect was used for Yale’s flashback, that is, there was a flash of light at the beginning and end of the flashback. The suddenness of the effect can be said to depict his troubled thoughts. In the case of Henry, his story, which was also a sort of flash back, made use of a dissolve instead. Here, there was a constant super imposition of the scenes from the story on the current scene with both of them visible at the same time. This helps us to be able to watch the facial expression of Henry as well as watch the story.

Camera Movement: zoom was used often in the movie. One of the significant instances is the zoom in to Yele’s CU when he was reflecting and the zoom out after the reflection. This was also repeated for Henry. I noticed that the zoom in was used particularly to allow us to partake in the emotions of the characters. Whenever it’s time to share in their world, we zoom in, and when we want to withdraw into the real world, we zoom out.

Camera Speed: I observed that slow motion was used in the scene where Henry arose from the wheelchair and the church members rejoiced. I believe this was done to sustain the effect of that miracle. The slow motion helped to emphasize the action that just took place. Sometimes, a celebration scene may not carry the intended emotion and significance until it is slowed down so that we can savour every moment of it.

Costume: day-to-day costume was used in the movie since it has a contemporary setting.

Make up: straight make up was done for majority of the characters. In noticed the sweat effect was used on Yele in the flashback scene and that is a character make up. The herbalist in the village Henry went for the mission work also had a character make up on.

Sound Effect: voiceover was used when the scene where Henry was being brought back from the mission field after the unfortunate incident of his wife and son. We only saw the exterior of the car while we hear his voice and that of the other passengers.

Reflections: I found it quite strange that Denis, an unbeliever, still had a more positive outlook to life than Yele. Even when Denis told him that nothing is impossible for God, Yele still argued.
- Yele found time to be thankful to the pastor and Henry for their help, yet he felt that God had been unhelpful. The question is, where did he think those help come from? God would not have come down Himself anyway! God uses people for us, and he did the same for Yele. I think his real problem was that he expected God to help him in a particular way and he did not take notice of the ways God was helping him already.
- Yele counted his woes instead of his blessings, so, it’s not surprising that his life was woeful.
- How can a person be so involved in church that he received the most dedicated worker award for five years, yet he had such a poor knowledge of God? I think I agree with Denis, Yele was a bread and butter Christian; serving God only for favours.

Finale: as far as I am concerned, the climax of the movie was when Henry drew his conclusion that God his good. I believe that this was more profound than when he heard the good news about his family, or when he walked. This is because the miracles were the aftermaths of his believe. He believed God even when he didn’t expect a miracle. That reminds me of the three Hebrew boys in Babylon. They said boldly that their God will save them from the fire, but even if He doesn’t, they will still not bow for the image.
I believe it is necessary for us to draw our conclusion about God now, and not wait until circumstances force us to. What do you think? Is God good?

Thanks for staying around. It has been another great time with you. Be on the lookout for the next one. Please post your comments so that I can know what you think about this write up. You can also recommend any Christian movie you want us to put on our micro film. God bless you.

ESIN AJOJI (The Strange Religion)

Director: Mike Bamiloye

Writer: Mike Bamiloye

Sola Mike Agboola

Producer: All Nigerian Conference of Evangelical Drama Ministries (ANCEDRAM)

Genre: Melodrama- the movie presents two distinct sides, God’s side (as represented by the strange religion) and that of the village gods. After much attempts to suppress the move of God in the village, all oppositions collapse in the face of superior authority.

Plot: King Olasorangbe is in a rage because some individuals are planning on bringing a strange religion into the village of Agbayun. The missionaries arrive and start to preach in the market place. The king gives the order for Ajigbotoluwa, the leader of the group, to be arrested while the others are shot. Ajigbotoluwa is beheaded as a sacrifice to the gods along with three prisoners who gave their lives to Christ while awaiting execution.

A hundred years later, King Oladunjoye is on the throne. His son, Prince Olabosipo, who has just arrived from overseas, brings his family home to pay the king a visit. Unfortunately, there is to be a ritual at the palace that night. The prayers of Olabosipo and his wife disrupt the ritual; hence, a life must be sacrificed for atonement. Whose will it be? The king’s or his son’s? The spirits decide that all they want this time is an animal sacrifice, only that it has to be brought by Prince Olabosipo. Of course the prince refused and the king had to endure some heavy beatings from the spirits.

When the king finally realizes that he is about to die, he travels to Lagos in the company of his most trusted chief to seek out his son. The spirits appear again, probably to finish the work they started on the king, but Prince Olabosipo engages them in a spiritual warfare. The spirits are defeated and the king not only recovers, but also has a dream in which he sees Jesus and learns more about the history of Agbayun village. At the very point when the chief priest and the other chiefs are about to commence the arrangements for the coronation of a new king, King Oladunjoye walks majestically into the palace and declares the lordship of Jesus. Idolatry is abolished and an evangelist from Lagos arrives to conduct a revival.

Theme: Wherever the gospel of Jesus Christ goes, there is light, life, liberation and development

Setting: village setting. Though the king travels to Lagos, we only see the house and not the environment

Main Casts: Mike Bamiloye, Kolade Segun-Okeowo, Sola Mike Agboola, Moses Owoseni, Nike Fashiku, Deborah Animasawun and Wole Olaleye

Country: Nigeria

Language: Yoruba (subtitled in English). The movie is rich in Yoruba proverbs, sayings and poetry

Sound Track: the theme song was written by Gloria Bamiloye

Title Sequence: while the names of the actors were being shown and the music was playing at the beginning of the movie, I noticed that the central image shown on screen was a night sky with half-moon. This became a recurrent image in the movie.

Cinematography:

- Shots: various types of shots were used in the movie, medium shots (MS), close up shots (CU), etc. I am however particularly attracted to the use of long shot (LS). Esin Ajoji is what I will call a “crowd” movie. It has a lot of scenes in which there are several actors on set. LS was effectively used to keep us in-touch with the bigger picture. No action was lost.

- Angles: the scenes were predominantly shot in mid-angle or eye level. However, a high angle shot was used for the missionaries when they were dancing into the village. I also noticed that most of the market scenes had elements of high angle in them.

- Transitions: the most common transitions in Esin Ajoji are “cut” and “fade”. I however appreciate the use of dissolve in some specific areas. Dissolve allows two separate scenes to be placed one on top of the other, such that the superimposed scene is transparent so that the previous scene can still be seen. For instance, when King Oladunjoye was narrating the history of Agbayun to his son, dissolve was used to shuttle between the flash back and the present. This helped to keep the audience in touch with the two worlds.

- Camera Movement: A high-angle dolly out was used at the scene where the masquerade attacked the missionaries. The camera was on the missionaries dancing, unaware of the impending danger, and then the camera withdraws and widens up to accommodate the masquerade in the same frame. This creates a sense of abandonment, particularly when some of the villagers have already run off. It was just as if the people still dancing were left to their fate.

Costume: periodic, day-to-day and special costumes were used

Make up: majority of the actors wore straight make up. Those with character make up include Olasorangbe, and his chiefs (who had beard, tribal marks etc), as well as some of the palace guards with their hair cuts. Ajigbotoluwa also had a character make up in the prison, with wounds and cuts. Fantastic make up was used for the two spirits, and it was a fantastic job indeed.

Symbolism: the half-moon sky that was shown in the title sequence was repeated from time to time. I find this symbolic because the night represents the darkness that covers the village. I also noticed that most of the oppressions happened at night; the spirits attempted to attack the Olabosipo at night, the king was first attacked at night, rituals were at night, etc. Thank God however because He created both light and darkness; some wonderful things too happened at night; the prisoners with Ajigbotoluwa got converted at night and King Oladunjoye’s final deliverance took place at night. So who is afraid of darkness?

Reflections: the covenant King Rinadegbo made on behalf of Agbayun village was not even total. I noticed that the spirits, after collecting the prince as their sacrifice, promised that not war in Yoruba land will overtake the village. So what if the war is from the east? Sounds to me like the story of Macbeth who was told that no man born of a woman will kill him. Who would have thought a man born through CS will do the job. There is always a clause to whatever the devil does.

- Though the village will not be defeated in war, its people will also not excel in anything. What kind of agreement is that? Yet the king agreed to everything out of desperation to escape the present predicament.

- When the ritual was interrupted by the prayers of Olabosipo and his wife, I was expecting the spirits to insist on human sacrifice. When the priest returned to say that they have settled for less, I knew those spirits had something up their sleeves. What they wanted was simple; just let the born again prince bring the black goat to the place of sacrifice. That reminded me of how simple it sounded when the devil offered to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glories if only he can bow down.

- Also, King Oladunjoye faithfully served his gods for 28 years, then he makes a mistake once and they will never forgive. Thank God we have a loving father who hates sin but loves us.

Finale: the movie ended in a very unique way. As the king sings and everyone present dance with him, the scene constantly dissolves into the scene where Ajigbotoluwa sings the same song with the redeemed prisoners in the cell 100years before. It was such a beautiful combination because the past and the present seem to merge in that moment. Ajigbotoluwa did not die in vain.

I also saw something that touched me, as prisoners are rejoicing over their salvation; royalties are also jubilating over theirs. Christ is for all. Jesus saved prisoners in the cell and Jesus saved chiefs in the palace, who says he can’t save you?

Wow, it’s been a wonderful time with you. Please post your comments so that I can know what you think about this write up. You can also recommend any Christian movie you want us to put on our micro film. God bless you.

WELCOME

I am excited to have you come to this page. Here, we review and evaluate movies, well, Christian movies to be specific. The title of this page captures what this is all about. From one perspective, micro film stands for film on which materials are photographed at greatly reduced size and it is useful for storage purposes. On this page, we will reduce full length movies of about 1hour 45mins to just a few paragraphs of synopsis for easy understanding. We will also get to preserve indefinitely the essence of such movies. On the other hand, micro film means that the movies will be subjected to the microscope. Well, not literally, but we will be magnifying the technical details of the movies. We will also feature the making of movies and behind-the-scene when such information is available. By now I hope you are as excited as I am. If you are, then let’s begin. By the way, I will appreciate your comments. Ok, now we can start.