• Latest
  • Trending
My Father’s Shadow Review

My Father’s Shadow Review: Childhood Innocence Meets Political Upheaval

Mob Cops Review

Mob Cops Review: All Exposition, No Execution

A Vanishing Fog Review

A Vanishing Fog Review: Finding Beauty in the Coming End

Among The Whispers - Provocation Review

Among The Whispers – Provocation Review: More Detective Than Ghost Hunter

Heavenly Ever After Season 1 Review

Heavenly Ever After Season 1 Review: An Afterlife of Inconsistent Rules

Treading Water Review

Treading Water Review: A Phenomenal Performance in a Fractured Film

A Normal Family Review

A Normal Family Review: Four Performances in a Pressure Cooker

Drop Dead City Review

Drop Dead City Review: Portrait of a City as a Dying Animal

Into the Restless Ruins Review

Into the Restless Ruins Review: An Architect of Your Own Demise

The President's Wife Review

The President’s Wife Review: Catherine Deneuve Reigns Supreme

All the Lost Ones Review

All the Lost Ones Review: Drowning in Its Own Plot Holes

Kieran Culkin

Culkin Tells Fans to “Lower Expectations” for His Caesar Flickerman

16 hours ago
Jared Leto

Nine Women Detail Sexual-Misconduct Claims Against Jared Leto

16 hours ago
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Gazettely Review Guidelines
Monday, June 9, 2025
GAZETTELY
  • Home
  • Movie and TV News
    Kieran Culkin

    Culkin Tells Fans to “Lower Expectations” for His Caesar Flickerman

    Jared Leto

    Nine Women Detail Sexual-Misconduct Claims Against Jared Leto

    David E. Kelley

    Kelley Says Cast Ready but Contracts Pending for ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 3

    Twelve Moons

    Tribeca Crowd Rallies Behind Victoria Franco’s Fertility Drama Twelve Moons

    Gerard Butler

    Gerard Butler Boards Live-Action How to Train Your Dragon as Stoick

    american psycho

    Mary Harron Confronts American Psycho’s Unwanted Wall Street Fanbase

    Death Does Not Exist

    Annecy Debut for Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Death Does Not Exist

    Martin Scorsese

    Scorsese Shuns Cinemas, Citing Distracting Audiences

    Sarah Jessica Parker

    Sarah Jessica Parker Confronts Fan Fury While AJLT Moves On Without Che

  • Movie and TV Reviews
    Mob Cops Review

    Mob Cops Review: All Exposition, No Execution

    A Vanishing Fog Review

    A Vanishing Fog Review: Finding Beauty in the Coming End

    Heavenly Ever After Season 1 Review

    Heavenly Ever After Season 1 Review: An Afterlife of Inconsistent Rules

    Treading Water Review

    Treading Water Review: A Phenomenal Performance in a Fractured Film

    A Normal Family Review

    A Normal Family Review: Four Performances in a Pressure Cooker

    Drop Dead City Review

    Drop Dead City Review: Portrait of a City as a Dying Animal

    The President's Wife Review

    The President’s Wife Review: Catherine Deneuve Reigns Supreme

    All the Lost Ones Review

    All the Lost Ones Review: Drowning in Its Own Plot Holes

    Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror Review

    Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror Review: Grief Without a Deeper Why

  • Game Reviews
    Among The Whispers - Provocation Review

    Among The Whispers – Provocation Review: More Detective Than Ghost Hunter

    Into the Restless Ruins Review

    Into the Restless Ruins Review: An Architect of Your Own Demise

    Lies of P: Overture Review

    Lies of P: Overture Review – A Perfect, Paradoxical Prelude

    Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune Review

    Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune Review – Hondo’s Best Outing Yet

    Mario Kart World Review

    Mario Kart World Review: The Thrill of the Race, The Emptiness of the Road

    POPUCOM Review

    POPUCOM Review: A Creative Co-op Masterpiece with Flaws

    Without a Dawn Review

    Without a Dawn Review: Introspection in a Cabin of Shadows

    Aureole – Wings of Hope Review

    Aureole – Wings of Hope Review: Precision Platforming with a Divine Twist

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Brushes with Death Review

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Brushes with Death Review: A Painter’s Tale in Bohemia

  • The Bests
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Movie and TV News
    Kieran Culkin

    Culkin Tells Fans to “Lower Expectations” for His Caesar Flickerman

    Jared Leto

    Nine Women Detail Sexual-Misconduct Claims Against Jared Leto

    David E. Kelley

    Kelley Says Cast Ready but Contracts Pending for ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 3

    Twelve Moons

    Tribeca Crowd Rallies Behind Victoria Franco’s Fertility Drama Twelve Moons

    Gerard Butler

    Gerard Butler Boards Live-Action How to Train Your Dragon as Stoick

    american psycho

    Mary Harron Confronts American Psycho’s Unwanted Wall Street Fanbase

    Death Does Not Exist

    Annecy Debut for Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Death Does Not Exist

    Martin Scorsese

    Scorsese Shuns Cinemas, Citing Distracting Audiences

    Sarah Jessica Parker

    Sarah Jessica Parker Confronts Fan Fury While AJLT Moves On Without Che

  • Movie and TV Reviews
    Mob Cops Review

    Mob Cops Review: All Exposition, No Execution

    A Vanishing Fog Review

    A Vanishing Fog Review: Finding Beauty in the Coming End

    Heavenly Ever After Season 1 Review

    Heavenly Ever After Season 1 Review: An Afterlife of Inconsistent Rules

    Treading Water Review

    Treading Water Review: A Phenomenal Performance in a Fractured Film

    A Normal Family Review

    A Normal Family Review: Four Performances in a Pressure Cooker

    Drop Dead City Review

    Drop Dead City Review: Portrait of a City as a Dying Animal

    The President's Wife Review

    The President’s Wife Review: Catherine Deneuve Reigns Supreme

    All the Lost Ones Review

    All the Lost Ones Review: Drowning in Its Own Plot Holes

    Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror Review

    Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror Review: Grief Without a Deeper Why

  • Game Reviews
    Among The Whispers - Provocation Review

    Among The Whispers – Provocation Review: More Detective Than Ghost Hunter

    Into the Restless Ruins Review

    Into the Restless Ruins Review: An Architect of Your Own Demise

    Lies of P: Overture Review

    Lies of P: Overture Review – A Perfect, Paradoxical Prelude

    Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune Review

    Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune Review – Hondo’s Best Outing Yet

    Mario Kart World Review

    Mario Kart World Review: The Thrill of the Race, The Emptiness of the Road

    POPUCOM Review

    POPUCOM Review: A Creative Co-op Masterpiece with Flaws

    Without a Dawn Review

    Without a Dawn Review: Introspection in a Cabin of Shadows

    Aureole – Wings of Hope Review

    Aureole – Wings of Hope Review: Precision Platforming with a Divine Twist

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Brushes with Death Review

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Brushes with Death Review: A Painter’s Tale in Bohemia

  • The Bests
No Result
View All Result
GAZETTELY
No Result
View All Result
My Father’s Shadow Review

The Phoenician Scheme Review: Splendor and Shadows in a Fictional Empire

Dear Hongrang Review: Secrets, Sorrows, and Shifting Loyalties in Joseon

Home Entertainment Movies

My Father’s Shadow Review: Childhood Innocence Meets Political Upheaval

Zhi Ho by Zhi Ho
3 weeks ago
in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on PinterestShare on WhatsAppShare on Telegram

June 24, 1993, Nigeria teeters on the edge of hope and upheaval as citizens await the results of an election that promises a return to civilian rule. Eleven-year-old Remi and his eight-year-old brother Akin find themselves whisked away from their quiet village to the roar of Lagos streets by their father, Folarin, a man they barely know.

What begins as a promise to collect overdue wages for his work soon takes on greater significance when they learn the ballots favor the people’s candidate, MKO Abiola—only to have those hopes dashed by a sudden military annulment.

The boys’ wide-eyed excitement collides with growing tension as they witness both the city’s bright promise and its darker undercurrents, setting the stage for an emotionally charged exploration of family bonds, political turmoil, and a father’s attempt to share a pivotal moment with his children.

From Village to City: An Episodic Odyssey

The film unfolds through a series of discrete but connected episodes. It opens with the brothers’ surprise as Folarin arrives unannounced, then follows their bumping bus ride to Lagos. Once there, Folarin’s errands take them to his workplace—where he stakes his claim for months of unpaid wages—before he treats them to simple pleasures: a beach where salt spray lends clarity to his earnest instruction, a nostalgic fairground filled with homemade thrills, and a favorite bar where he exchanges knowing glances with an old friend.

As the day progresses, archival clips of campaign rallies and voices on boomboxes remind viewers of the larger stakes, while a sudden barroom celebration erupts into chaos when the election is revoked.

Childlike play—remastered through paper cutouts of The Undertaker wrestlers—and moments of unguarded wonder sit alongside scenes of rising unrest. This interplay of innocence and violence underscores the film’s core themes: the distance between father and sons, the fragile hope that change can bring, and the way individual memory collides with national history.

A recurring voice-over—“I’ll see you in my dreams”—frames the narrative and casts doubt on whether these events unfolded exactly as shown or represent a child’s wishful recall. Pacing shifts from calm dialogues to jolting eruptions, urging the viewer to feel both the beauty of discovery and the shock of disillusionment.

Fragments of Reality and Memory

Director Akinola Davies Jr. employs a semi-autobiographical lens that privileges the brothers’ point of view. He stitches in real footage—campaign posters fraying in the sun, frantic archival radio updates—so that the era’s texture seeps into every frame. Cinematographer Jermaine Edwards opts for muted film grain, close-ups that linger on a sweat-streaked forehead or an anxious glance, and expansive street shots that convey Lagos’s restless energy.

Production design and costume choices feel lived-in rather than staged: battered minibuses queue for petrol, military uniforms glint under harsh lights, and period attire moves with the actors instead of hanging on them. The soundscape layers the ambient hum of traffic, distant chants of celebration, and sudden crashes of unrest.

At key moments, silence settles heavily, reflecting the boys’ overwhelmed senses. Editing cuts swiftly between narrative scenes and documentary-style inserts, creating a patchwork that heightens suspense while echoing a child’s fragmented understanding of world events.

Faces of Hope and Uncertainty

Sope Dirisu’s Folarin holds the screen with a magnetic calm. He shifts from doting parent—letting his sons clamber over his shoulders—to a man weighed down by political danger, earning the nickname “Kapo” among old allies. His steely gaze softens only in rare moments, like his quiet beach talk where he imparts lessons without clarifying every motive.

Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Egbo (real-life brothers) capture the push-and-pull of sibling life: sudden laughter at silly games followed by sharp rivalry over who holds the prized cutout. Remi’s growing suspicion—stoked when his father slips away at a bar—mirrors a player in a narrative-driven game who begins to question the quest-giver’s motives. Akin’s unfiltered joy and fear reveal how deeply children cling to both hope and security.

Key scenes anchor the emotional journey: the beach dialogue bristles with unspoken truths; Folarin’s tense exchange at his workplace becomes a masterclass in restrained fury; the bar encounter echoes a stealth mission’s twist; and the final sequence—shut behind a door—leaves viewers asking if the day was lived or imagined. Through these moments, trust falters, heartbreak strikes at the annulment’s announcement, and an ambiguous last shot ensures the bonds of memory linger long after the credits roll.

The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2025, marking the first official Nigerian selection in the festival’s history.

Full Credits

Director: Akinola Davies Jr.

Writers: Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies

Producers: Rachel Dargavel, Funmbi Ogunbanwo

Cast: Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Godwin Chiemerie Egbo, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo

Director of Photography (Cinematographer): Jermaine Edwards

Editor: Omar Guzmán Castro

Composers: Duval Timothy, Cj Mirra

The Review

My Father’s Shadow

8 Score

My Father’s Shadow is a moving fusion of intimate family drama and political chronicle. Through the brothers’ eyes, Davies Jr. crafts a day of wonder and fear that balances playful discovery with sudden unrest. Dirisu anchors the film with a layered performance, while the young leads bring raw authenticity. The fractured narrative and sensory-rich style draw you into both a personal memory and a nation’s heartbreak. This debut confirms Davies Jr. as a storyteller who knows how to make emotion and history feel inseparable.

PROS

  • Authentic, affecting performances from Dirisu and the Egbo brothers
  • Immersive 1993 Lagos atmosphere with lived-in production design
  • Skillful blend of archival footage and narrative scenes
  • Emotional stakes grounded in a child’s perspective

CONS

  • Episodic pacing can feel uneven
  • Key plot motivations remain partly obscured
  • Some scenes repeat similar beats without added depth

Review Breakdown

  • Overall 0
Tags: 2025 Cannes Film FestivalAkinola Davies Jr.BBC FilmBFIChibuike Marvellous EgboCrybabyDramaEfon WiniElement PicturesFatherland ProductionsFeaturedGodwin Chiemerie EgboMUBIMy Father's ShadowṢọpẹ́ Dìrísù
Previous Post

The Phoenician Scheme Review: Splendor and Shadows in a Fictional Empire

Next Post

Dear Hongrang Review: Secrets, Sorrows, and Shifting Loyalties in Joseon

Try AI Movie Recommender

Gazettely AI Movie Recommender

This Week's Top Reads

  • Boglands Review

    Boglands Review: Shadows and Whispers in the Irish Mist

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Amongst the Wolves Review: A Gritty yet Compassionate Directorial Debut

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Stick Season 1 Review: Owen Wilson Drives a Heartfelt, Flawed Dramedy

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mad Unicorn Review: Ambition and Its Echoes in the Global Stream

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Survivors Season 1 Review: A Town Drowning in Secrets

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Mortician Season 1 Review: Inside a House of Horrors and Profiteering

    7 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Black Forest Murders Review: Beyond Spectacle, Into the Grim Expanse

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Must Read Articles

Mario Kart World Review
Reviews Games

Mario Kart World Review: The Thrill of the Race, The Emptiness of the Road

2 days ago
Echo Valley Review
Movies

Echo Valley Review: Moore Shines in a Flawed Thriller

2 days ago
Lost in Starlight Review
Movies

Lost in Starlight Review: Almost Reaches the Stars

2 days ago
Ginny & Georgia Season 3 Review
TV Shows

Ginny & Georgia Season 3 Review: Survival Is a Brutal Art Form

2 days ago
Tires Season 2 Review
TV Shows

Tires Season 2 Review: More Than Just a Blue-Collar Gag-Fest

2 days ago
Loading poll ...
Coming Soon
Who is the best director in the horror thriller genre?

Gazettely is your go-to destination for all things gaming, movies, and TV. With fresh reviews, trending articles, and editor picks, we help you stay informed and entertained.

© 2021-2024 All Rights Reserved for Gazettely

What’s Inside

  • Movie & TV Reviews
  • Game Reviews
  • Featured Articles
  • Latest News
  • Editorial Picks

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About US
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Review Guidelines

Follow Us

Facebook X-twitter Youtube Instagram
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Movies
  • Entertainment News
  • Movie and TV Reviews
  • TV Shows
  • Game News
  • Game Reviews
  • Contact Us

© 2024 All Rights Reserved for Gazettely

Go to mobile version