Breath of Life…It was a major difference from the ground-breaking film God Calling that Nemsia Productions had previously released.
It was tough to connect to the story because it was so artificial, everything looked forced from the screenplay to the production. And I’d like to believe it was caused by the Amazon influence; when filmmakers are financed by giants like Netflix, Disney, or Amazon, they gradually lose their unique touch in order to fit in. This is soooo sad… Breath of Life gets a Water rating and is Yours To Explore.
Hello Nganda family and visitors, my name is Rose…oh oh I’m so sad…
Delicious
—Chimezie Imo saved the day by staying true to his natural and exceptional talent. It was nice seeing him in a different role, he played an aspiring pastor medically affected by asthma. So, every now and then, you’d see his asthma getting in the way especially when he was panicking or overwhelmed by his love for Anna (played by Genoveva Umeh)
Bland
—It was heartbreaking to say the least that Breath of Life was just an average tale we’ve seen many times in the past. It felt like watching those colonial British stories, but this time it was an African version. We could map out the end from the beginning. There was no ambiance in the scenario, e.g. there was no chemistry between the young Rev. Timi and his family. They never exchanged pleasantries, his daughter never even spoke to him, and the few times the little girl uttered some words, the camera wasn’t fixed on her. So you knew it was a voiceover. The story crossed over so many years that the first Nigerian Independence was now celebrated in 1968!
—The color grading was too bright for the somber mood of the film. Cinematography could have utilized more dramatic camera angles and movements in order to deepen the narrative
—The climax was plain, nothing to really get you excited. The film could have included powerful symbols to accentuate the theme of Breath of Life. Moreover, we were introduced to this great man, Rev. Timi who was so intelligent and accomplished amazing exploits in England but as soon as he moved back to Nigeria, he was reduced to a common man. This made us wonder why did he have to be so special in the first place?
The worst part of all, we have Chimezie’s character, Elijah, an aspiring pastor always preaching about the fear of God, yet this was the same guy who was interested in romancing a non-believer, the guy cussed and was fornicating, yikes!!
—The term “boy” is a derogatory word used by the British to belittle black men during slavery times. So, Rev. Timi (played by Uncle Wale Ojo) having grown up in England should have been fully aware of this. Yet, that’s the same word he used to call Elijah. Why now?
—Overall, we were more like spectators than participants in this story as it was not relatable. The foreign accents, foreign costume designs, and superficial dialogues distanced us greatly. Performance appeared so scripted, Uncle Wale Ojo wasn’t manifesting anger or agony from within and it was obvious that Genoveva was conscious of the camera, she wasn’t free-spirited like she usually is
I am very sad because I raved about God Calling when it came out, but Breath of Life kinda took out the glow that Nemsia Productions had. I’m even afraid for their future projects ‘cos Amazon will still be financing them.
Breath of Life is available on Prime Video and I wish you a restful day!