Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Can anyone remember a gay Nigerian film. One quick search on my blog, I found online such story. SO naturally my expectations were quite up knowing that this Nigerian film had won the Berlinale Teddy Award. The summary said, "An understated but heart-wrenching look at the love between two men in modern-day Nigeria, where such love is forbidden, as the motorcycle courier and aspiring photographer grow closer as they explore Lagos." Sounds good! So let's see what this is all about. Bambino, a delivery bike driver, is a single man, very used to his ways of living. He is looking to a possible promotion, and given that he has a stable job, he doesn't hesitate to help neighbors financially where he can and is generous when people are late repaying him. A girl in his neighborhood that he is close friends with, like shim and make occasional advances but he keeps things at a distance. However, everything changes when he meets Bawa, a charismatic photographer, during a photo co...

The theme of the film, for some, may feel from 70s and 80s, but given the setting in Lagos, Nigeria and the ultra conservative society there along with the culture makes the subject very unique and contemporary even for today's time. The exploration of queer Nigeria lend a fresh relevance to material that might otherwise feel old hat. Adrian and Ada are happily married couple with a daughter. There life is thrown a spanner when an anonymous call tells Ada that her husband is gay. When she confronts Adrian, he doesn't deny it but asks to be explained. He says he has never cheated and that as his life long before he met Ada, but she would have none of it. He reaches out to an old gay friend for support but we see slowly his life being spiraled down. The gossip spreads where his work gets affected. His two brothers along with is parents who are ultra conservative will take none of this. His brother even takes him to a church with a violent approach to purging the “sin of homosexua...