The Lost Number

Saw this at the Pan African Film Festival and it was much more satisfying than I expected it to be. I'm a big African movie fan, but had never dabbled into Nigerian cinema until now, so I'm glad I picked the right Nigerian film to start with. It definitely has its technical issues in regards to the way it was made, and some of the acting and writing can border on just plain silly at times, but you know what, I was able to overlook such issues and immerse myself into the relevant and effective story. Based on issues that are currently going on in Africa, the film primarily deals with the issue of certain people (working for the government) making profit off of Africans dying of AIDS. It's a very complicated issue and I don't even think I can explain it all that well if I tried, especially to the extent that the writer/filmmaker can/did, but I fully understood it and appreciated the producer and actor Sadiq Abu (who plays Holy Moses) taking the time out to explain it in-depth during the Q&A session.

It's been described as an action movie, and it certainly delivers in that regards. It's very fast paced and things get pretty heated and violent at certain moments. The finale in particular had me and the rest of the audience on the edge of our seats, so this is a well paced and exciting film for the most part, which gives us relatable characters to sympathize with in a relatable story, and you really can't ask for much more in an action movie. Some of the acting was pretty hit-or-miss, but most of the performers more-or-less fit their roles well. This is a low-budget movie that was filmed in a month and a few weeks with extremely limited resources, and what the cast and crew accomplished in that regard is nothing short of applause-worthy, especially when you factor in the negative reception Nigerian movies usually get here in the West.

The movie has a lot of interesting twists and turns, as well as dramatic weight. One could basically describe it as a gritty crowd-pleaser. Those who obsess over technical perfection in films likely won't get a whole lot out of it, but those who are interested in a personal, relevant, well-intentioned story in the form of a fast-moving, suspenseful action-drama can't go wrong with The Lost Number. And I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing what the producer and director does with a bigger budget and better resources next time around.