#FILMFRIDAYS: GREEN WHITE GREEN AND THE UNRULY MESS THAT NOLLYWOOD HAS MADE.
GREEN WHITE GREEN (2017)
DIR: ABBA T. MAKAMA
Something is happening in Nollywood. It is not yet some big v-for-vendetta style revolution but it is a creative movement that I feel we should be paying more attention to. It reminds me of another important film movement, the French New Wave. This radical film movement, led by a bunch of young dissatisfied film critics heavily influenced by the American films that flooded the French market after the world war, was a response to the traditional French films of the time. These radical apostates, limited by budget and relying on inventive film-making techniques and imagination , made small but artful films with a distinct style and bold, singular authorial identity that would go on to influence modern cinema forever.
I feel there is a similarity between the early period of the French new wave and the current reality of Nollywood. Our Cinemas are filled with the same commercial factory-style jargon with generic plots that appeal to the widest demographic and leave no space for smart and inventive storytelling. The cinematography serves no purpose to the narrative other than to better image quality and the camera is a passive observer to a montage of dull static moments that result in a forgettable film watching experience.
But this new wave of filmmakers made up of mostly foreign-trained hollywood-influenced cinephiles and culture heads are trying to fuck shit up and I am here for it. These films, like Dare Olaitan’s Ojukokoro and Abba Makama’s Green White Green , are heavy on pop-culture references and pay homage to the American films that the directors grew up on. These films offer bits of satire or social commentary on issues of greed, corruption and tribalism that pervade contemporary Nigerian culture.
Green White Green tells the coming-of-age story of four young restless teenagers looking for meaning in the months leading up to university. Armed with their half-cooked ideas and impressions of their respective tribes, they set out to make a movie about Nigeria. Yes, you read that right. That’s the plot of a Nigerian film.
Much praise goes to intention as the execution exposes glaring missteps. It is clumsy and uneven in tone and pacing. The self-aware amateurishness, intentional or inevitable, leads to moments that either disarmingly great or distractingly bad. It claims to asks what is to be Nigerian but doesn’t provide a definitive answer. All the flaws aside, It is a fresh, bold and playful departure from the monotonous, hyper serious crop of Nigerian films before it. It is a timely social commentary on tribalism, patriotism and the creative process. There is a sense of style, a clear auteurism that pervades every frame that is hardly seen in other plastic Nigerian popcorn fodder. At the same time, it boasts of influences from Spike Lee to La Haine.
It brilliantly expands on the generic idea of the unemployable, entitled, vote-for-hire millennial perpetuated by Nollywood and the media (and our own fucking idiot of a president ). Our lead characters are products of westernization who grew up on bootlegs of Guy Ritchie films and Nas albums and who argue over the avengers and matrix trilogy. They are painters and filmmakers, professions considered unserious and far from the generally acceptable lawyer-doctor-engineer conventions. This is what every social gathering made up of alte-woke, aesthete-obsessed, faux-bougie, weed-smoking, self -ordained pariahs should be screening.
This film, which was also Makama’s debut, was nominated for best Nigerian film and best debut at the AMAAs (the African equivalent of the Oscars) and was screened at the Toronto film festival to great acclaim but never made it to the cinemas. The reason? Nollywood distributors felt it was unfit for cinema and it is not hard to see why. It is different, it is a big risk, a big fuck you to nollywood. It is only available on airplanes and Netflix, a platform that is still relatively inaccessible to the general population.
The people who put films in cinema decided against distributing this film because they felt people like you and I wouldn’t get it. And That’s bullshit because story is very accessible and relatable. It uses western devices to a tell a very Nigerian story and it is something to excited about.
So Enjoy!
