Starring: Mike Ezuruonye, Bob Manuel Udokoru, Queen Nwokoye, Ebele Okaro

Synopsis:

Two brothers have an all out war over a woman with significant ties to both of them.

Review:

Arinze and Izunna were brothers that shared a close bond. They were together through thick and thin. They were not wealthy and life took a turn for the worst when Izunna (Bob Udokoru) lost his business and Arinze (Mike Ezuruonye) was fired from his job.

Izunna helped Arinze recoup some of the salary owed to him but the two were at their wits end about how to make a living. 

During their misfortune Kamsi (Queen Nwokoye) supported them emotionally and helped them out around the house. She was Arinze’s girlfriend but both men appreciated her presence in the family.

Time passed and Arinze came up with a business idea that was ultimately successful. The brothers bought a house together and life changed for the best as they then lived an upscale life. 

The kicker was that success left Arinze very little time for his girlfriend, Kamsi. He frequently traveled and that left Kamsi and Izunna alone in the house. With business booming, Arinze wasn’t ready for marriage and meanwhile, his mother was pressuring Izunna to find a wife.  

As Izunna and Kamsi spent time together, they grew close. Since it appeared that his brother would never marry her, Izunna proposed to Kamsi himself. When Arinze learned of his brother’s disloyalty it started a bitter battle. 

Let’s Talk. This is a love triangle. The story was proficient in that it used a simple theme and created a lot of spark. Yes, we’ve seen tons of love triangles before and we’ll probably see many more but what’s great about this particular one is that the triangle was on fire! The characters were in love, angry, stressed, indecisive, and even violent. There were even moments of humor amidst the heated conflict. 

The drama cleverly weaved a bond between all of the parties involved and provoked a tug-of-war. Not only did the brothers argue, the mothers had words too. The situation escalated into such chaos that the town elders got involved.    

As energetic as this story was there were a few flaws:

1) It’s not clear why Kamsi didn’t travel with Arinze when he had business appointments. She didn’t appear to have a career and he certainly had enough money for her travel expenses. 

2) As for the Izunna character, it didn’t make sense for him to want to marry a woman and then be at odds with his brother when he only had feelings of gratitude for her. 

3) As for technical issues, English subtitles were not provided when the actors spoke in African dialect. 

There were some aspects of the story that were predictable but the truth of the matter is that when you’re really enjoying a movie, who cares? Ultimately, we’re not looking for perfection we’re just looking to be entertained. 

Performances? On point. It’s great when a cast has a natural rapport and all were convincing in their respective roles. Although Mike Ezuruonye and Bob Udokoru didn’t look alike, they were credible as brothers. I loved Ebele Okaro in this movie. She’s fantastic. Queen Nwokoye was great too. 

“One Blood” is a vigorous love and war movie. The lesson in the story? Money doesn’t solve everything…just most things. RECOMMEND