the only redeeming features of this film are that the use of colour is beautiful in places and there are a few good Nigerian character actors who give some engaging performances.
But oh my goodness if you've read the novel you will be stunned at how badly it has been brought to the screen. I noticed in the opening credits that Aidichie the author did not write the screenplay and it shows.
The acting is, by and large unconvincing, but what really weakens the novel is the very simplistic way that the complexities of the Biafran crisis are presented to the viewer. There's almost no way for someone with no background of the events concerned to make any sense of it all. And the film almost ignores the horrific atrocities, the atrocious famine and the way that the crisis was made worse by almost the entire political world turning a blind eye for four long years.
The editing is woeful with the plot taking place in several locations interspersed with archive BBC news footage. The scenes are all confined to static sets with few exceptions. Those exceptions are badly filmed 'action' shots with 1980s A-Team special effects.
Oh, and then it ended. Just like that.
Very very disappointing. Don't waste money on this at the cinema. Spend it instead on the excellent novel which I fear many will now not read because they think it will be as bad as the film.
But oh my goodness if you've read the novel you will be stunned at how badly it has been brought to the screen. I noticed in the opening credits that Aidichie the author did not write the screenplay and it shows.
The acting is, by and large unconvincing, but what really weakens the novel is the very simplistic way that the complexities of the Biafran crisis are presented to the viewer. There's almost no way for someone with no background of the events concerned to make any sense of it all. And the film almost ignores the horrific atrocities, the atrocious famine and the way that the crisis was made worse by almost the entire political world turning a blind eye for four long years.
The editing is woeful with the plot taking place in several locations interspersed with archive BBC news footage. The scenes are all confined to static sets with few exceptions. Those exceptions are badly filmed 'action' shots with 1980s A-Team special effects.
Oh, and then it ended. Just like that.
Very very disappointing. Don't waste money on this at the cinema. Spend it instead on the excellent novel which I fear many will now not read because they think it will be as bad as the film.