Elesin Oba Movie Review
The movie Elesin Oba was produced by Netflix and Ebonylife films in 2022 and was released on the 28th of October. The movie starred many Nigerian actors and actresses alongside other foreign casts. The movie is an adaptation of the stage play "Death and the King's Horseman" by Prof. Wole Soyinka.
Inspired by true life events, in the Oyo Empire in the 1940's,The king has just died, and as tradition demands, Elesin Oba, the King’s horseman, must perform ritual suicide, so that the king may gain unhindered passage into the land of the gods, and prevent calamity from befalling the community. However, Elesin Oba’s sexual appetites cause him to shirk in his duty, followed by a confrontation with the British, with devastating consequences,This sets in motion a series of catastrophic consequences, in a spell-binding film of emotions, humour, and tragic role reversals that puts ancient beliefs and customs on trial in an ever increasingly post-modern and Western world.
Elesin Oba: The Cast
Odunlade Adekola
Shaffy Bello
Ọlawale Ọlọfọrọ (Brymo)
Deyemi Okanlawon
Omowunmi Dada
Jide Kosoko
Kevin Ushi
Jenny Stead
Mark Elderkin
Langley Kirkwood
Taiwo Ajai-Lycett
Joke Silva
The original ‘Death and the King’s Horseman’ was a stage play written by Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka. This marks the first time that one of Soyinka’s works has been made into a feature film. It was also the last project by the late Biyi Bandele.
With all the different reviews generated by this movie on social media, deep down I just know I have to watch the movie so that my judgement wouldn't get clouded based on other people's reviews.
Elesin Oba is quite an elaborate stage play, as far as I am concerned. It was not properly adapted to a movie. It may be in a bid to stay true to the original script, but it was left as a stage play.
However The movie is full of lengthy monologues and dialogues,even in real life nobody talks too much like that.
It is a well acted stage play in movie format. However, the white actors are too wooden; they almost have no expression that fits their scenes and conversations at all.
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