As I have yet to read Americanah, this is my favourite Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel and I was very excited to see the film. I was not disappointed. Ignore other reviewers who are moaning about this film as, apart from some dull gratuitous Newton nipple shots, the film is wonderful.
I was pleased to see that the film didn’t just concentrate on the despair and woe of the Biafran war but actually showed a raw human side, a middle-class educated side that is rarely seen in films about West Africa (or indeed any African nation).
Set in the time when Nigeria achieved independence from foreign rule, the book and film chart the chaos that followed the young democracy. I couldn’t help but feel sad about what my own grandparents suffered during Partition. All that hope and love for the future descending into violence and loss.
Nigerian children do not learn about the Biafran war at school and I read that the film is banned in Nigeria. With the current troubles in Nigeria, I can only wonder if it is wise for Nigerians to grow up without knowing their past.
Watch and enjoy this beautifully shot, stylish and often harrowing film! Hurry as only a few cinemas are now showing it, I had to go to the old Odeon on Panton St, Leicester Square.
Bunty
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