Starring: Majid Michel, Zynnell Lydia Zuh, Pascal Amanfo
Synopsis:
While terrorists continue to gain on destroying mankind, Amid, a newly recruited soldier to the regime, spends the night with a prostitute that makes him rethink everything he’s ever believed.
Review:
Pascal Amanfo directs and plays Amid, the latest recruit to a terrorist group. Amid was all set to detonate a bomb that could potentially kill thousands but prior to his plan he spent the night with Nina (Zynnell Lydia Zuh), a prostitute.
Nina lived the life of a hooker in order to foot the medical expenses of her dying mother. It turned out that one of her highest paying clients was Amid.
On their night together, they struck up a conversation about religion. This is when Nina seemed to stir something in him as she challenged his wayward ideals.
Let’s Talk. It is reported that this movie, also titled “Boko Haram,” was barred from Silverbird-Nigeria and Ghana cinemas due to its subject matter and film quality. The name also had to be changed to “Nation Under Siege” in some markets because Nigerians were not receptive to the original title.
This movie is touted as a love story but it is anything but. The relationship between the main characters, Nina and Amid, was short lived and didn’t create that warm and fuzzy feeling at all. There wasn’t even a kiss between them, not even a smile. If anything, “Nation Under Siege” felt like a war movie due to its violence.
Majid Michel’s name was used as a marketing tool. He was displayed as the star but he only had a small part. His lack of presence onscreen caused the movie to suffer as the other actors were left with the job of carrying it.
Performances? The acting here was not great because some of the actors that played law authorities overacted and were not believable. Pascal did his thing as the disturbed terrorist and Majid as always, masters the character.
Unfortunately there were technical flaws as some segments had poor sound and some dialogue was unclear. However, the positive aspects has to do with Amid’s final choices and the movie’s messages about religion, faith, and love.
Credit must be given to Pascal Amanfo for moving away from the popular infidelity/love/royal family dramas and stepping outside the box. RECOMMEND
- Rated: Not Rated
- Genre: Drama
- Release Date: 2013
- Directed by: Pascal Amanfo
- Starring: Majid Michel, Zynnell Lydia Zuh, Dream Debo, Seun Akindele, Mary Uranta, Pascal Amanfo
- Written by: Pascal Amanfo, Folake Amanfo
- Studio: M31 Film Productions
- Country: Nigeria
The international community has been unwilling to become
involved in the conflict, and despite having the biggest army in West Africa, Nigeria’s
military has fought to push the militants back.
Security analysts pointed to too little investment and corruption in the army
as key motives. But after a lot more than five years of insurgency,
the military appears to have turned a corner in the battle
against Boko Haram. Troops rescued hundreds of captured women and girls and have reclaimed
swathes of land in the north. Much of this success was attributed to a former army general, President Buhari, and his crackdown on corrupt military officials.
The creation of a more powerful regional coalition in addition has helped push the militants
back.
Hi Oge,
My apologies that the display of your comment was delayed due to technical matters. In response, I’d like to say that terrorism is a challenge that unfortunately, all countries face. Right now, here in the US, we are going through the most important election of our time and the issue of terrorism is just one of the many reasons that it’s crucially important to choose the right leaders. Thank you for bringing awareness to the progress Nigeria has made in the fight against terrorism. I’m not sure that movies such as this has had any effect but I commend Pascal Amanfo for tackling the subject.
All the Best.