Let me just start by saying this: I love this movie so much! (inserts a mushy emoji). ITK the movie has been out for a while and for some reason I just never got to watch it. I decided to check it out over the weekend and realized just how much I had been missing. The story was enjoyable, relatable, and consistent. I love the many features of comedy here and there. The cast and characterization are just brilliant. And the story is very true in its depiction of what you may be shocked to learn is the reality of Nigerian many families. Now before you think I got paid to write this, let me get into the review proper.
Introducing The Kujus is a movie that tells the story of a family of five siblings who lost their mother 5 years before the story begins. It begins with the third child, Mausi trying to get everybody together to celebrate the 5th year remembrance of their mother. Together with Maugbe, the last child she is able to cook up different schemes that bring her other siblings Mautin, Maupe, and Mauyan back home-a fit she has not been able to achieve in the last 5 years. On the arrival of everyone, the drama begins to unfold as the truth about their arrival gets known alongside other unsettled family scores. The drama gets more intense and the family time is about to be ruined but thankfully everything gets resolved. As the plot unravels, every raised issue in the story gets treated. This sums up to become an enjoyable story.
The introductory scene is catchy. It gives a clue about the level of drama one is about to get exposed to. The rest of the story follows the tone as each scene adds up to a unifying enjoyable plot. The story is one that is not just peculiar to the Nigerian society, but the dynamics of the personalities of the Kuju siblings maps it down to home. The typical tyrant older siblings, whose thinking is close to that of the parents and would naturally not respect the emotions of the younger ones and believes their way of life is the only or best (depending on how open-minded they are) way to follow. Then there’s the middle child who can be anything between the two extremes of calm and hot-headed, as we see with Mausi and Mauyan. And finally, a last child who would typically complement the equation-usually tending towards the good side.
The acting is top-notch! It almost became hard to see these actors outside of the characters they had taken up. It felt like each person had lived a part of the role given to them so they could easily fit in. I mean, except for a few crying scenes where there was a bit of struggle with the portrayal of the right emotions, and Tombara being too obvious with his acting, the acting was good! Maupe, the second sibling and first girl played by Ronke Odusanya had a highly commendable performance, I must add.
The cast selection is also commendable! All 5 siblings looked alike and it was easy to buy the idea of them being siblings.
But of course, as with everything, it is not perfect. Here are a few neglection details that raised my eyebrows:
When Maugbe came home after Mausi, he was surprised to learn that someone else was at home. Yet outside he saw a car that clearly indicated the presence of someone and he even mentioned that he was “definitely going to take this one for a spin.” Was it not the car he was referring to? Why then was he surprised that someone else was around? Wasn’t the door open too?
Another of such detail was that Mausi and Maugbe said they would call their other siblings in alphabetical order yet started with Mauyan. Shouldn’t it have been Maupe, Mautin before Mauyan?
Then the character Otunba gives me great concern. He seemed like a filler for the story writer as he didn’t seem to have an actual personality. First he seems like a sensible older man who is chasing Ebi, but then does the most clueless thing by offering to buy the whole shop. Like bro, do you expect them to shut their only source of income simply because they want to travel to the village? Again he shows up at the family house unannounced. I get it, people can do stupid things for love, but his seemed like a lack of placement when his personality stood at par with other characters. By the way, is there something to look forward to with him and Mausi?
Finally, I just want to ask: is there a waterway that connects Abuja to Lagos because how did Mautin travel via the waterway?
This is all I have on this review of ITK the movie. Kindly let me know your thoughts in the comments.
