Movie :: « Half of a Yellow Sun » (2013) :: NIGERIA

Half-of-a-Yellow-Sun-March-2014-BellaNaija

Some time ago I stumbled upon the Half of a Yellow Sun teaser and promised myself to watch it. Then of course I forgot, I guess I was too busy watching nonsense, yeah it also happens to me. Anyway, I finally watched the movie and let me tell you that it was totally worth it! It has been adapted from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book that has sold a cool half-million copies in the UK alone.This commercial success is perhaps something of a surprise for a book about the Biafran conflict, anyway the movie is truly dope : the kind of movie to watch on a Sunday evening when you are done with the week end’s hustle, in bed, with a cup of tea.

● What’s the story about?

If you do not like to read here is the trailer:

If you like to read : Olanna (Thandie Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) are glamorous twins from a wealthy Nigerian family. Returning to a privileged city life in newly independent 1960s Nigeria after their expensive English education, the two women make very different choices.Olanna shocks her family by going to live with her lover, the “revolutionary professor” Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his devoted houseboy Ugwu (John Boyega) in the dusty university town of Nsukka; Kainene turns out to be a fiercely successful businesswoman when she takes over the family interests, and surprises herself when she falls in love with Richard (Joseph Mawle), an English writer.

Preoccupied by their romantic entanglements, and a betrayal between the sisters, the events of their life loom larger than politics. However, they become caught up in the events of the Nigerian civil war, in which the lgbo people fought an impassioned struggle to establish Biafra as an independent republic, ending in chilling violence which shocked the entire country and the world.

A sweeping romantic drama, HALF OF A YELLOW SUN takes the sisters and their lovers on a journey through the war which is powerful, intensely emotional and, as the response of readers around the world has shown, it is a story which can touch everyone’s heart. (source : http://halfofayellowsunmovie.com/ )

● Why you should watch it?

– The cast is dope : Chiwetel Ejiofor (Twelve years a slave’s actor ), Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose (The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’s actress and so many others), Joseph Mawle, Onyeka Onwenu, Genevieve Nnaji (The famous Nollywood actress).

-The movie does not go deep into the events that led to the Biafran war (not risking misinterpretations) and I do not think that it was its intention anyway. Still it gives an idea of what people of that time went through. How thousands of people had to move and leave everything behind without always understanding why, how thousands of others lost beloved and innocent ones in a war that did not make sense to them, how so many African countries can be forgotten when the worse happen on their soils and how people got to continue living anyway.

-The movie makes you experience every possible emotion and is definitely not only about war and killings.

-The movie sets in the 60’s, « vintage » stuff are all over ! 🙂

-The images are amazing!

-It gives you insight into some sides of Nigerian culture, that can definitely be found in any African culture : Mother-in-laws having hidden agendas for their sons and daughter-in-laws, aunties being second mothers to their nephews, loyalty of maids that end up becoming family, unconditional love rarely expressed by parents, the impossible task of being different on the continent etc.

-It’s all about a journey, that could be anyone’s journey and it pushes you to sympathize deeply with your human side. You feel for every character.