Movie Review: Slow Country

Screenwriter: Eric Aghimien
Editor: Eric Aghimien (Spike)
Visual Effects: Eric Aghimien
Special Effects, Make-Up and Prosthetics: Hakeem ‘Effect’ Onilogbo
Line Producer: Christian Mordi
Music/Original Music: Bez, Kuvu, Bondo, Jon Oogah/Freeman Okafor
Production Designer: Hakeem Onilogbo and Godwin Aghimien
Producer: Eric Aghimien
Executive Producer: Banji Adesanmi and Eric Aghimien
Director: Eric Aghimien

Cast 
Ivie Okujaye-Egboh
Sambasa Nzeribe
Tope Tedela
Majid Michel
Richard Brutus
Victor Eriabie
Gina Castel
Adebayo Thomas
Imoudu ‘DJ Moe’ Ayonete
Shola Thompson-Adewale

Production Studio: Hills Pictures and PTV Production
Distribution Company: Hills Pictures
Genre: Action/Crime
Date Released: September 2016
Language: English and Pidgin English(Subtitled in English)

Synopsis 
Slow Country tells the story of a homeless teenage mother, who sought refuge in the arms of a drug kingpin, just so she could be able to cater for her son. The kingpin ushers her into the underground world of prostitution and drug trafficking. However, she is soon faced with a serious dilemma when she gets fed up…and tries to break free.

Plot 
Kome (Ivie) is ready to do whatever it takes to cater for her son Peter (Adebayo). With the help of a ruthless drug kingpin Tuvi (Sambasa), Kome and her best friend Ola (Gina) gets drawn into prostitution and drug trafficking. The pay is quite good. And all seems to be rosy at first; until the ghost of memories past catches up with her.

Her ex-boyfriend Osas (Tope) suddenly shows up, after 7 years of abandoning her. He is now an NYSC corps member teaching in Peter’s school and class, in particular. Osas tries to win back Kome’s heart. But fails at each attempt.

During a deal, Tuvi gets into a brief row with a fellow drug dealer Brasko (Brutus). As he is clearly angered by Brasko’s advances towards Kome. Meanwhile, after several tries and pleas, Kome finally reconciles with Osas. She pleads with Tuvi to allow her leave the underworld, and start a new life. But Tuvi refuses to grant Kome’s plea.

Soon, an angry Tuvi gets to find out about Osas, and consequently rough-handles him. He accuses Osas of trying to make Kome leave the underworld.

At this point, it dawns on an enraged Tuvi that he would not only have to fight off Brasko’s advances towards Kome, but also that of the love-struck Osas, even if it means killing both of them….

CRITIQUE  

The Good
I was very impressed with the amount of work put into the props and set design. Every prop in virtually every scene, captured the essence of that particular scene, especially the firearms and ammo used. The set designs were quite impressive. From the scenes in Brasko’s den where the old damaged cars littered the landscape, to the scenes at the abandoned factory where virtually everything around you could literally be used as a weapon. They all lent further credence to the film’s gritty nature. Kudos to the Production Designer.

*                            *                             *

The visual and special effects in this movie, further goes to show that its Director, Eric Aghimien has clearly charted a new course in the action genre, here in Nollywood. The visual effects in Slow Country, in my opinion, is the best yet to be seen so far as Nollywood’s action movies are concerned. The Director clearly bettered his efforts in A Mile From Home, on this one. The gun battles, the explosions, the car crash, the hand combats, the dismembered limbs, and pummeled faces were even more gritty and gory. Big ups to the Director and Hakeem Effects!

*                              *                                *

The cinematography of the film was apt for its kind of genre. It was quite gritty, and had a quasi-film noir feel to it. The camera angles were great: from the pan that captured Kome and Osas’ kidnap scene, to the tilt that showed Brasko diving away at the sight of a grenade, and the dolly shot that captured the moment when Osas was standing in the middle of a factory looking lost, anxious and angry. Every bit of the cinematography captured the essence of the movie. The Cinematographer and the Director deserves a standing ovation. It can only get better than this.

*                                *                                *

Now, moving over to the actors. Whoever wrote and built the character Tuvi, is a freaking genius! I can’t remember the last time I saw a villain so ruthless, in a Nollywood flick. There was no doubt that Sambasa Nzeribe was the perfect guy for that role, and he delivered with style and panache. There was absolutely no one in the cinema…that didn’t warm up to Sambasa’s character Tuvi. The way he said: "Brasko, where Kome?" Was enough to send jitters down the spine. He was a character we all loved to hate. It’ll be quite interesting to see Sambasa star in a film noir movie. Till now, I can’t stop gushing about his performance. It was effortless and almost flawless.

Adebayo Thomas who played Peter, Kome’s son, was simply a joy to watch. He’s definitely going to be a great child actor. For someone who came in as a substitute for the child actor who was previously cast for the role; Adebayo held his own and made the audience root for him.

Brasko!!! Richard Brutus was Brasko himself! He literally embodied the character Brasko. Playfully cruel, wittily brutal. Brasko was the bomb! From his costume which looked like that of popular newspaper comic character Kaptain Africa; to his morbid sense of humour. To me, he was the comic foil of the movie; as well as a worthy match up against Tuvi.

Tope Tedela showed once again why he deserved to win best actor at the AMVCA 2014 awards. He played his character Osas with zest. You could literally empathize with Osas, as he struggled to win back Kome, bond with his son Peter, and bravely fight Tuvi to a standstill. Tope Tedela is a great actor!

Gina Castel’s performance was heart-warming. She played her character Ola with so much believability, that the audience couldn’t help but sympathize with Ola, for bearing the brunt of her best friend Kome’s troubles.
                  

Majid Michel put up a decent performance, as the throat cancer suffering cop Inspector Dave, who just couldn’t get his hands off cigarettes, for even a minute.

The Bad
Ivie Okujaye-Egbo wasn’t at her best on this one. This movie was centered around her character Kome. But Sambasa took the shine off her. If she had brought in her premium game on this one, she definitely would have shared the spotlight with Sambasa. Her lines were a bit drawn and slow paced, for an action film; especially in the scene were Kome was being asked by Inspector Dave and Inspector Ogbonna (Victor Eriabie) to snitch on Tuvi. However, I heard she was pregnant at the time this movie was being filmed. So….

The Ugly
The scene were Inspector Dave gives the drug peddler, Charger (Emmanuel Ilemobayo) a hot chase down the streets, was so shaky, it could give an epileptic person an instant seizure, or even cause vertigo. Someone could turn cross-eyed from watching that scene. That scene literally hurt my eyes, man! Lol! It was the only cinematographic blot to the great motion picture that Slow Country is.

*                               *                                 *

In conclusion, I am very impressed with what the guerrilla-style Director, Eric Aghimien has been able to do with this movie, despite being on a low budget, and also being held by the Customs for 9 days for importing his firearms props. Crafting a great action film in Nigeria is not child’s play, but Slow Country showed it can be done. What more can I say? Y’all need to go see this great flick. It’s worth every bit of your penny. I rate Slow Country 4.5 stars out 5.