Ekpebiwo M: I Have Decided reminded me of the late 90s when movies like Igodo, and Ijele: Son of the Masquerade reigned supreme. It tells the story of a village chief who faces opposition from his former traditional beliefs after he embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. He becomes an evangelist and is daily motivated by the hymn ‘I have decided to follow Jesus’.
This movie brought back actors of old who rocked the late 90s era of Nollywood. I’m talking about Alex Osifo, Ini Edo, Jide Kosoko, and Chidi Mokeme. It also features Mary Uche, Chucks Chyk, Ovunde Enyinmo, Patrick Ifeanyi Onyeochatawrycki, and Justice Slik amongst others.
If you are among those missing the Nollywood of old, Ekpebiwo M: I Have Decided is the film to see. It was directed by Matthews Ajalys, who co-wrote the story with Jane John-Nwankwo.
The costume is not different from Asabawood’s quality
The costumes are similar to what is obtainable in the Asabawood section of the Nigerian movie industry. I found it too noisy and distracting. I thought it was a pushed attempt at giving the movie an epic look. If the traditional priests were the only ones dressed like that, it would have been understandable. Making almost everyone wear the same brown and earthy-toned animal skin attire was just over the top.
Pidgin English instead of Igbo language
The story of Ekpebiwo M: I Have Decided is set in colonial-era Igboland in Nigeria. When I read the synopsis, I was glad that I was going to the cinema to see an Igbo movie in the likes of Anikulapo and Lisabi: The Uprising. I was, however, sad when the dialogues were in Pidgin English and English with a little Igbo here and there.
If the language spoken in the movie was purely Igbo, it would have been awesome. But making it pidgin seemed to steal from the cultural perspective of the movie. We just saw Afamefuna: An Nwa Boy Story which was 80 per cent in Igbo language. I must say that the movie was interesting, even though I only followed the subtitles. The Igbo language dialogue kind of created a mystery that added depth to the movie.
Better Cinematography needed
I remember the night scene where the chief’s wife was making it clear that she would not abandon her tradition for a white man’s religion. The lighting of the scene made use of a complimentary color scheme i,e Orange and Teal. Sadly, the teal was too blue and a poor representation of moonlight.
An average color grading prevented this movie from having the epic look movies of similar storylines usually have. Once again, this movie gives the vibe of a 90s film that managed to get released today.
Acting is not impressive
First and foremost, this movie is low-budget. Maybe that’s why the acting of the white men that starred in the film is poor. It’s as if the directors just picked some random expatriates in Nigeria and featured them in the film. However, I must commend the fight scenes in the movie. Nollywood will finally get there one day. Ekpebiwo M: I Have Decided gets a 5/10.
