The Figurine,araromire

Movie Title : THE FIGURINE, Araromire
Starring : Kunle Afolayan, Ramsey Nouah, Omoni Oboli, Funlola Aofiyebi- Raimi, Tosin Sido
Directed by : Kunle Afolayan
Genre : Drama

How would you react if you were told that the seemingly harmless carved wooden statuette in your home has an enigma of pitfalls trailing its historical antecedents and is responsible for the bombarding catastrophic events forcefully rocking your family’s boat? You could react in two ways. “Freak out”, or “wave it aside as mere superstition”. Kunle Afolayan’s, “The Figurine, araromire” surely brings it home. The thrilling movie was produced for N 50 Million and was shot for almost 80 days in Osun and Lagos states, with the entire production culminating in about seven months of hard work.

The establishing shot reveals the genesis of an old folk tale in the ancient village of Araromire in 1908, with the chief priest loyal to araromire “goddess of fortune and luck”, granting her desire to come to the earth through one avenue. He carves with dexterity the cursed bark of a tree to bring forth the end product, “The Figurine”. The deity blesses all those who come in contact with her, (through the figurine) and the villagers prosper for seven years. After the seven years of plenty comes an unprecedented rapid sweep of calamity and death over the land, no thanks to the goddess! Aggrieved youths storm her shrine and set the figurine ablaze, ending the rule of the deity over their land, but hey! it’s just an old folk tale.

Almost a Century later, three NYSC Corpers , Sola Fajure (kunle Afolayan), a third class Archaeology graduate, Mona (Omoni Oboli), Femi Kalejaye( Ramsey Nouah) are posted to Araromire. Sola’s wavy relationship with Mona back in College days culminates in to her being pregnant and she accepts his marital proposal, much to Femi’s dismay. He’s in love with her and time seems to have momentarily stopped as he swallows the bitter pill of emotional agony for loosing the one he loves to an unworthy opponent “his fun loving best friend”. The ruthless pounding of the emotional imbalance and psychological torture on his heart initiates the breaking process, leaving him with a ‘heart break’. Strange eerie sounds ring out from the village’s direction, while the Corpers are being drilled by the Platoon’s military instructor (Wale Adebayo) on the parade ground. Femi’s asthmatic attack causes him to lag behind during an out door activity, and Sola insists on staying with him. Certain events lead them to the mysterious ill-omened Figurine. Sola takes it with a get rich scheme brewing in his mind and then the seven years bounty extravaganza begins. Misfortunes, ill luck, sicknesses, hustling, lack, gives way to prosperity in all fronts for Sola and Femi. Mona learns about the old folk tale with the 7 years of plenty and 7 years disastrous principles but her fears and views are waved aside by Sola, who has the figurine in his house. When the hellish game spun around macabre events begins, they realize it’s not just a mere folk tale and Mona begins to seek for a solution to stop araromire from further unleashing her fury. Were the calamities the acts of the goddess araromire or was it an act of a human being gone berserk? The Figurine, araromire gives you the answer.

The N 50 Million movie certainly produced the desired effect. Beautiful shots of the lovely water falls (Erin Ijesha water falls in Osun state) sceneries in Lagos, the Miccom Golf course (Osun) compact tree lines showing the rich forest vegetation were projected through good cinematography. I liked the visually convincing bee- hived NYSC orientation camp, with the parade, field work, platoon military instructor’s interactive sessions with the Corpers which made the scene lively and realistic (those who have served will concur). The encapsulation of suspense, pulsating scenes, good sound /visual / convincing special effects, rich voiceover, non – defective subtitling, good lighting, flash backs , under cranking techniques birthed the quality production.

Kunle Afolayan, who triggered off his acting career with Tunde Kelani’s “Saworide” has over time grown to professionally discharge his dual duties as an actor and outstanding film maker. He incontrovertibly interpreted and played his role of the ladies man, a libertine, living and loving life to the fullest, very convincingly. His facial expressions constantly revealed his lack of zest to conquer new lands, projected irritable moments, and a non- chalant, complacent attitude, with roving eyes that lustfully trailed the women’s back view, capped it all. Ramsey Noah also pulled of his role with the introverted disposition, though his fluency in the Yoruba language was slightly marred by the subtle imperfect Yoruba intonations (at least he tried). His character interpretation projected in Femi’s asthmatic attacks scored on points, invoking massive sympathy votes from viewers touched by his plight. Funlola Aofeyebi-Rimi’s role as the desperate, frustrated, matured spinster (Linda Chukwu) attracted to Femi, with her relentless, dogged attitude in applying every trick in the book of “how to lure him to the altar” causes one to break in to smiles now and again. Omoni Oboli played the good wifely role, though i wasn’t bought over by the fainting and night mare after shock scenes. I loved in particular the traditional theme song. The use of traditional drum beats, rich male voices, created a sensational rhythmic effect, causing my eyes to stay riveted on the big screen waiting enthusiastically to visually devour the rich contents of the various succeeding scenes. Amazingly, the theme song wasn’t sung in the Yoruba dialect (though it sounded like it), it was simply sheer creativity!

The movie does not however fly the flawless flag. The director in my view ought to have taken advantage of the ‘fear instilling outlook of the figurine’, “the carved image” to complement the sound effects and also inject grand doses of special effects around it to invoke a greater depth of mystery, and a little scare about the figurine. (There was a scene Mona stood looking at the figurine transfixed, a subtle tone of an evil voice and special effect created around the figurine would have scored on points), and wouldn’t have robbed the twisty plot idea. The discovery of the figurine in the abandoned hut was rather easy, and lacked the dramatic, suspense filled, spine chilling moments. I mean an abandoned hut would have a few creatures creeping here and there to startle them which would have pumped up our adrenalin. The sudden sound interference stemming from the honking by motorists on the street during Mona’s conversation with Femi while at the Public park in Lagos didn’t work for me. Such should have been anticipated, the scene could have been shot in a less noisy environment. The story started on a promising note jumping in quick succession over various scene hurdles and was poised to hit the bull’s eye. However, the over ambitious desire to create a twisty plot line in the advanced stages with the “what do you believe” words starring at me left a rather slightly de-sweetened taste in my mouth.

Despite its short comings “The Figurine- araromire” proves that Kunle Afolayan means business and has come out smoking hot, surpassing Irapadas’s production and i’m sure with time its record. He has raised the Movie production bar in Nollywood once again. Do I recommend the movie, Y-E-S ! and with certitude he’s poised to cart away another round of prestigious awards!

Point’s Rating for The Figurine, araromire : 4

Points rating guide
5 points : Classic
4 points : Very good
3 points : Good
2 points : Fair
1 point : An apology