Date Night Movie Review - Ije (The Journey)

When it comes to deciding which Nollywood movies to watch, I can find no more excellent recommender than Myne. If she says "I'm going to look for any Nollywood movie to watch", then that's my cue to stay as far away as I can from the movie. On the other hand, if she says "There's this specific movie which I heard about that I want to watch", then I ask her to shift and make room for me beside her, because I know that it's going to be a good movie. Unfortunately for a wannabe fan like me, there are too few of the latter kind of movie.

So I was very happy when I heard that Ije, a movie that Myne had expressed a very definite interest in the past, was now available to watch. I promptly sat myself down next to her and we started watching.

The movie is about Anyanwu Opara (played by Omotola Jalade Ekeinde) who is being tried in the US for the murder of her white husband, and her sister Chioma (played by Genevieve Nnaji) who flies to the States to assist in her defence. Chioma meets a lawyer, Jalen, who agrees to defend Anyanwu, and a friendship grows between them while Jalen tries to put together a defence for Anyanwu.

Genevieve Nnaji Cut From Half of a Yellow Sun Movie?

Reports coming out of Nollywood indicate that the adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie's award winning book, Half of a Yellow Sun, will be screened at the 2013 FESPACO film festival, opening in Ouagadougou, February 23. That means it may be reaching the cinemas as soon as summer, if not before.

The feature film has a cast that includes Thandie Newton [who remembers the furor?], John Boyega, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dominic Cooper, Anika Noni Rose, and Joseph Mawle. Nigerians involved in the project are Biyi Bandele, directing, Cobhams Asuquo and Keziah Jones, both composing original music for the film, and Genevieve Nnaji with small acting part. Most of that small role may have ended on the editing/cutting room floor.

Like I've learned since I started doing movie reviews, all adapted films have three stages - there's the book, then the script, and finally the director's vision. So anything can happen to change around a story during those stages. If you've read the book, you'll know there's a heartbreaking love story involved, but I'm not sure which part Genevieve is playing.