ASUNDER (A CAMEROUN MOVIE REVIEW)

Source

ASUNDER reflects on how a family’s life can be threatened when the past comes crashing in on the present. It also subtly touched on secrets, grudges, and forgiveness.

SYNOPSES

Magoge (Apang Percy) and Maya (Brunhilda SK) are a couple. Their once peaceful home comes under fire when Maya almost runs Sandra (Marvis Snow) over with her car.

Feeling guilty, Maya would extend a hand of friendship to Sandra as she invited her into her home. No sooner had Sandra become a friend of the family than Maya begins to experience episodes of hallucinations and delusional thoughts.

What could be the cause of Maya’s nightmares? Has Sandra got anything to do with it? Are there more to these than to meet the eye?

MOVIE REVIEW

Over time, I’ve seen a steady growth in the Cameroun movie industry as there’s been a noticeably significant improvement in film production. I must say I’m pleased with the dedication and drive.

This movie gave the feelings of what a thriller should give, especially with the sound effects, albeit not as intense, mostly owing to the fact that the suspense did not hold up much. While the story is brilliant, the plot wasn’t solid nor foolproof enough.

Although the picture quality was good with an incredible background sound and the actors gave in their best, line delivery was unimpressive for the most parts. I want to believe that the script supervisor overlooked certain keywords that were mispronounced in some cases or mixed up in some other instances. Or maybe by way of oversight, they just didn’t notice them.

Marvis Snow, who played Sandra, gave a believable performance as a psychopath. She redeemed some words that had hitherto been wrongly pronounced.

For instance, she was able to flawlessly say ‘hallucinogen’ which prior to that scene had been pronounced ‘hallicigen’ by two others. Her body language, facial expressions, diction, and natural acting skills worked for the role she was given, which forms the core of the story.

My second best act is Nchana Basil, who played the role of Armstrong, the detective. I see him going beyond the walls of Cameroonian films if he hasn’t already. Guy’s effortless in his role delivery.

Apart from these two actors mentioned above, the others gave a rather mechanical approach to character representation such that it was obvious they were acting. Line delivery too wasn’t smooth.

Props was also another area of concern as I found the interior of the couple’s house to be too busy for comfort and the design not appealing to the eyes. If there was a backstory as to the house being an old one bequeathed to either or both of them, that I would understand. But for a modern-day decor…naaah!

To be honest, I was willing to score this movie higher as the story is absolutely genius and educational, but the direction is flawed. Someone certainly may not have been paying attention to details as there were inconsistencies that resulted in a major flop for the movie.

1. Initially, Maya told Sandra she has a five-year old daughter who’s with grandma for the holidays (or did I hear wrong?). Several scenes later, Maya speaks with her mum on the phone and refers to the child as ‘he’ She then proceeds to tell her husband Magoge “I’m going to pick up my 'son'!”
   Subsequently, we see Maya return home with a 'daughter' looking nothing less than 8 to 12 years old. Now, how many children does the couple have? If it is just the one, did the child grow up to that number of years in that short time?

2. After Maya began to suddenly suffer episodes of delusions and went to get help, was that a therapist or a seer or a doctor she spoke with? How were they able to instantly ascertain or decipher the substance mentioned that Maya had been exposed to without adequate investigation or scrutiny?

3. How was Maya able to get rid of the substance from her system, being that she was told to figure it out herself?

4. The fact that a child as grown as that would comply with a stranger she’s never seen before after just being with her mother during an outing was absolutely improbable. Even a 2-year old would throw tantrums looking or asking for their mummy afterward.

5. There was a huge loophole with continuity as there was a missing link between when Emmanuela was found and the next scene that followed. No reunion between daughter & her mother, who had been worried sick, was established. In fact, we never saw Emmanuela again in the film after that. Or did we?

6. The movie had a weak end; more like rushed to wrap up. The backstory of the adopted father was intriguing. However, it wasn’t sufficiently explored. As a matter of fact, it appeared like an afterthought in the story. This would have served as a smart move for some plot twists, but it wasn’t well executed.

Conclusively, this was somewhat compelling by virtue of the supporting actress’s ability to interpret the character of Sandra really well. I just wished the others had done just as naturally.

The overall outcome of the movie was consequently not as believable. Nonetheless, there’s room for improvement, and we’re here for all of it. Hence, I’d like to appreciate the effort put in here!

This movie is rated ‘PG’ hence not suitable for younger viewers being that there were depictions of sex and other vulgar languages, cussing & swearing. I loved that the editor added that boldly on the screen.

I hope that this was interesting to read. Thanks for coming around.