October 1 (2014)

Fresh and Exciting

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

A different way of telling a story

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

After having this in My List on Netflix for probably a year, I finally decided to watch it, being a skeptic of all films made in Nigerian. I hate Nollywood and their repetitive nonsense films about love, in laws and general foolishness about money. And don't get me started with the bad camera work and sound/sound effects. Enter October 1st, the films is simply everything I wanted plus more. A good detective film, a love story without too much emphasis on the love, a country's last journey through independence from the white man and the very good play on the stereotype of the different tribes that makes up the Fedral Republic of Nigeria. I spent the first 10 years of my life there and still have and love the vivid memory's however often forget, lest I am reminded by films like this. Culture, language, food, palm wine and of course the British. The film was well acted, very well directed, you knew who the perpetrator is from the get go, but due to everything that made up the rest of the film, I didn't care that it took a while to get to him. It also had plenty of Yoruba spoken in it which is my first language, so this is one I will be recommending to all my fellow Nigerians. I will be looking out for more work by Kunle Afolayan. Well done!!!

I liked this murder mystery from Nigeria. The film cinematography almost felt like a filmed play at times.....but that is just my observation.The plot was thick and readable part way in but far enough in to keep my interest.I really liked the setting, the clothing, and the characterizations. The best obviously, is the old inspector. This gave me a feel for what I hear is an up and coming Nigerian film scene.The mixture of culture and language was very interesting. Some English, mostly subtitles. Some British influence, mostly Nigerian.Cheesier parts like the murder scenes and investigation of murder scenes at really real locations sparked my interest.....I guess. On the whole, the nature of these just added to my interest in the film.

October 1 makes an attempt at telling Nigeria's story before her independence while inculcating another suspense filled story that captures the viewers' attention till the very end. This thriller is set in the colonial times and was well executed by the use of great costuming, antique props such as cars used in that era and household items like television sets and all sorts. Apart from exploring the theme independence, it also sheds light on topics including homosexuality, tribalism and illiteracy. The casting is the best I have seen so far in "Nollywood". It is an amalgamation of old and new faces with well-developed skill-set. It features veterans like Sadiq Daba and Kayode Aderupoko who are well known prolific actors in Nigeria. The scripting 'of the movie could have been better as it affected the dialogue, the use of flashback technique is not well executed as one could not really tell what was going on without putting much thought into it. A lot of thought was put into production as the picture is top quality and the post production is detailed, the music used also helps to depict the time frame portrayed in this movie. I don't want to give out any spoilers but i would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in having surface knowledge about Nigeria before its independence

This was a very character rich film. Not a single scene was wasted. You feel taken by the hand invisibly by the storyteller and shown things that seem unimportant perhaps or out of context at the time, yet slowly but surely build towards powerful scenes and an inescapable conclusion. You don't have to know any Nigerian history to get a sense of the buzz in the air about the country's independence which was being launched at the time this provincial crime investigation takes place. It's also worth noting that the investigation does not rely on common tropes such as what a genius the investigator but rather on an organic navigation through unfamiliar territory and peculiar characters interacting in a fluid, at times comical at times dangerous framework.