Movie title: Breaded life
Release date: 16th April, 2021.
Runtime: 2 hours
Director: Biodun Stephen
Cast: Timini Egbuson, Tina Mba, Bimbo Ademoye, Bisola Aiyeola, Lateef Adedimeji, M.C lively, Bolanle Ninalowo, Jide Kosoko, Funnybone, Nkechi Blessing.
Breaded life is a combination of comedy and tragedy of circumstance, you should expect to laugh a lot and maybe cry too. It was for this reason I was particularly impressed about the smooth flow of these two elements combined. I am going to embark on this journey in order to describe what I found remarkable while viewing this movie.
I was immersed into the story so much that my logical and practical instincts to explain the events told were somewhat placed on hold. I avoided thinking about the “hows and whys”, all I wanted was to enjoy the story as it unfolds into something beautiful.
PLOT
A spoilt and overprivileged son chooses to live life without the intention to school or work, he had no plan other than clubbing and dwelling in the company of women—all because a huge trust fund is his for the taking when he comes of age. He learns the harsh reality of life after being rejected by his affluent family. He is unable to comprehend the situation after coming to the realization that suddenly none of his family or friends recall him or his affiliation to them even after several attempts to convince them. It is almost as if his existence has been totally wiped from their memories. The situation automatically results in losing all his access to wealth or affluence. In his state of quandary, he set out to the slums in search of a former employee of his family, meanwhile begging for alms in order to survive. He hopes that this employee would recognize him and intervene on his behalf. As fate would have it, he meets a bread seller who recognizes and questions his motive in such a place considering his background of affluence. She takes him under her care after he explains his ordeal, invites him into her home then goes on to give him an orientation of how life works in the ghetto, also using her connection to get him a menial job so he can have a means of income—an income lower than what he handed out as tips. He holds his family in great contempt for abandoning him but begins to adjust to his new lifestyle after a great deal of time passes. He begins to appreciate and enjoy the little things of life and starts to build a life there for himself. He starts all the way from scratch and now makes plans as an adult man should. He even begins to consider marriage after falling in love with this bread seller, plans to have children with her and grow with her too. Is this how his life would end always be from here henceforth? Has he truly accepted his fate? Would his affluent family recall him? Would he abandon the love of his life if eventually they do?
PERFORMANCE AND CASTING
Timini Egbuson and Bimbo Ademoye who played Summy and Todowede respectively, put the life into breaded life. Their performances were convincing enough to completely submerse me into the story being told. They were able to properly execute their dialogues without hitches or lags that would push me out of the originality the filmmakers tried so hard to create. It is hard enough to make people believe that its realistically possible to be forgotten by everyone, now imagine combining that with poor execution it will be harder to convince the audience about its possibility. As a matter of fact these actors weren’t the only ones who brought life to this movie, these ones in particular, put on performances that was able to imbue the comedy into the tragicomedy. Actors like M.C. lively (Iskilu), Funnybone (Gateman), Lateef Adedimeji (Jugunu), Nkechi Blessing (Risky Baby) and Bolanle Ninalowo (Jobe) had me rolling off the couch. They were able to balance comedy even in the midst of a tragedy, I would basically laugh then start to feel sorry for summy and find myself laughing all over again. It takes a good cast to be able to hold up that balance and I must commend these ones for their great synergic talents.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The time impression relayed is set to be modern, so it is very easy to relate to the mode of dressing and manner of dialogue. The location setting shuffled between the ghetto and the suburban, it helped to clearly show the transition of lifestyle Summy had to undergo. We all understand how important the location of scene is because they could either make or mar the desired effect on a movie, so I would give a posy to the producers of breaded life for paying attention to this detail.
The lightening of the movie was top notch, in scenes where we ought to feel somber or melancholic the lightening was set to ensue such mood. In reverse, if it was a scene that involves an element of comedy, the lightning is put on in such a way that you feel flighty enough to welcome the humor. In summary, the lightning was able to tell me how to feel.
There was a very clear distinction in the lives of the rich and poor, mostly through the use of costumes and props. We could tell the level of affluence from how the characters were costumed. Its almost as if I could smell the money on the rich and at the same time perceive the fragrance of cheap Oud perfume on the not so rich characters. From the cheap synthetic wigs on Todowede in comparison to the raw silk hair on Mrs. Cole, I could distinguish the clear-cut difference in their class.
SOUND AND MUSIC
The music genre that was predominant were those of the Yoruba Talking drums. In all honesty it was interesting to listen to but there were scenes where it didn’t synchronize with the dialogue and mood coupled with poor mixing and mastery. I found it insanely distracting and unnecessary for such scenes, a different choice in genre would have been a resolution for such. But for the most part, I had no difficulty in hearing the dialogue between characters.
DIRECTING
Biodun Stephen is a writer, filmmaker and director. She had her breakthrough in Nollywood after the movie “The Visit” got recognition at the 2016 AMVCA awards. After seeing “Breaded life”, I strongly believe she understands how to seamlessly blend both comedy, tragedy and romance. She has also mastered the art of making surreal events totally realistic that you defy logical thinking and start to make sense of illogical events. Simply put, I actually believed that his whole family didn’t remember him which should be possible maybe due to some spiritual force behind the occurrence of such situation—maybe in order to punish summy for his lackadaisical attitude towards life. It didn’t occur to me to reason logically—I was so immersed I forgot it isn’t possible for such to happen. It took the big revelation which had me wondering why I didn’t consider such possibility. It takes a good writer and director to have such effect on an audience. I also find it comforting how she was able to draw out diverse characters from each actor without jarring us out of the movie, it takes a good level of intuition and skill too. Biodun did a good job on this one and I am thrilled to see her other works.
VERDICT
All good moments must come to an end and so must my review. I honestly had a great viewing experience and would recommend this to anyone who is willing to laugh, cry and maybe fall in love too. I would rate breaded life an 8 out of 10, because of the seamless flow and balance between comedy and tragedy. You should definitely see it.
Your reviews are lovely. Intellectually stimulating and yet easily visual at the same time. Well done.