I have to give it up for Femi Branch following his outstanding performance as Bashorun Ga’a in the new movie House of Ga’a, which is currently streaming. Though I’ve always known him to be a good actor, his performance in this movie is a step ahead of his potential.
House of Ga’a is the legend of Bashorun Ga’a, a fierce Oyo Empire prime minister and warlord. He is feared by kings who mount the throne of the Alaafin of Oyo despite being their appointee. Kings who fail to do his bidding meet their demise in mysterious ways. However, his overbearing attitude led to his downfall.
Directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters, House of Ga’a boasts of a star-studded cast that includes Temilolu Fosudo, Teddy A, Femi Branch, Femi Adebayo, Gabriel Afolayan, Funke Akindele, Toyin Abraham, Adeniyi Johnson, Lateef Adedimeji, Yemi Blaq, Mike Afolarin, Stan Nze, Ibrahim Chatta, Seun Akindele, and Bridget Nkem, amongst others.
The set design depicts the Old Oyo empire
From what I learnt, the set for the movie was built on hectares of land in the Epe area of Lagos, Nigeria. I like that the directors didn’t push themselves too hard in terms of set design and they didn’t fall short of anything necessary. What is displayed in the movie is just right for it.
The color palette of the movie is mostly brownish, depicting what life was like in the Old Oyo empire where mud huts were the architecture of the civilization then. Building the huts used in the movie from scratch is a plus for Nollywood. I think some of the scenes were overemphasized using green screen as seen in the image below.
Costume showcases Yoruba heritage
Seeing the display of Agbada and Danshiki sewn from Aso Oke as worn by the chiefs, princes and other highly-placed individuals in the movie was amazing. The women are not left out in the colourful display of Yoruba fashion. This movie impressed me with the use of colours, as nothing seemed off, but all blended together, delivering something pleasing to the eyes. I can’t help but commend the hair stylist who put together the women’s hair, some of which reminded me of Orisa Bunmi of old Yoruba epic movies. What about the beautiful use of beads?
Along with the highly placed individuals, the costumers did well with the uniforms of the warriors of the Oyo empire and those of Nupe. The outfits they wore looked exactly like those depicted in history books.
One thing I think the costumers got wrong is the tribal marks on the faces of the actors. The marks look fake, especially on Toyin Abraham and Funke Akindele. They should learn from the costumer of Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre, who placed convincing tribal marks on the actors in the hit series.
Some drawbacks noticed
The horses used in House of Ga’a look either too skinny or too young. I could mistake them for goats as the men who rode the horses looked like Goliath on them. I’m still yet to see a Nollywood movie that made use of well-fed horses with muscles. I’ll advise any horse lover to invest in breeding horses because, very soon, Nollywood will get to a point where it will need to depict ancient wars fought on horseback.
B**bs on display
I think Nollywood is beginning to tilt towards unfamiliar territories, going by the recent display of n*dity in movies. In House of Ga’a, Tosin Adeyemi, who starred as Zainab, a Nupe slave, displayed b**bs twice. I don’t see how that adds to the movie or how a lack of such a display will subtract from the movie. I doubt those were real b**bs, though. If they were prosthetics, as claimed in the case of such display by Bimbo Adeboye, who starred as Olori Arolake in Anikulapo, then Nollywood needs to stop deceiving viewers. You either show the real deal or don’t. Their movies will still attain heights, with or without such displays.
Poor but manageable CGI
The CGI in this movie is poor but manageable because the film doesn’t boast of CGI as one of its strong points. The part where Bashorun Ga’a transformed back to himself from an elephant didn’t look real but I enjoyed it. Also, the part where one of the Alaafins was strangled to death by snakes looks fake. Lastly, the fire that burnt Bashorun Ga’a reeks of poorly done CGI. Real fire should have been used. There are ways such is done but I won’t go into details.
Fight scenes
The fight scenes have flaws but we can overlook them because Nollywood is not there yet. The reason why I won’t dwell on the flaws is because the movie’s strong point is its story, not the battles.
Best Acting
Just as I said earlier, Femi Branch killed the lead role and deserved to be the best actor. Poor acting goes to Adeyemi Johnson. He looked still stuck in the old Nollywood, where any acting is tolerated. I wonder why Toyin Abraham was used in this movie. She only appeared in three scenes, and the appearances were not significant or needed. Stan Nze deserves praise, too, for his role as Nupe warlord. Even though he only appeared in a scene, he impressed me with how he spoke Yoruba like a Nupe person would. I recall being impressed when he spoke Pidgin English with a Ghanaian accent in the new series Oloture: The Journey.
What rating should I give the House of Ga’a? This film deserves a solid 8/10. If the producers can continue in this trajectory, then improvements in their work will be noticed.
