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Murder, witchcraft, corruption, and superstition. The Cursed Ones has a lot going on to keep you entertained for the duration of the film. If you’re looking for a story like the protagonist in this film, then watch The Cursed Ones for free on Flix Premiere.
The Cursed Ones starts with a young pastor with a black eye listening to a tape recording. We hear that there has been murder in the town the pastor is from. It’s a flash forward, intended to get us quickly involved into the plot and watch on.
After the intriguing opening scene we get a lot of plot exposition. We are shown how one of the village hunters finds a young mute girl (Asabi) in the woods and brings her home. Then we follow Godwin, a journalist from the city, sent to cover the festival in the hunter and pastor’s home town. It’s obvious the town is remote. There doesn’t appear to be any running water or electricity and it’s surrounded by lush forests. It’s the perfect setting for a murder mystery.
The director first shows the head pastor of the village talking to one of the villagers inside a pretty dark room. The lack of colour in the room, contrasted to the bright colours outdoors, makes the scene appear pretty ominous. It’s an early clue to the audience, that the head pastor should not be trusted.
In contrast to the head pastor, the young pastor is friendly and talkative, and is obviously committed to his teaching (he doesn’t leave his class to be interviewed by Godwin). Because of his popularity, he seems like the better fit for the head pastor role. As a result, the head pastor seeks extreme ways to control his congregation. He claims that the devil has found his way into the village and lives in the young ‘witch’, Asabi. He exploits the superstitions of the villagers to imprison Asabi, claiming that only he can save them if they kill her and continue to follow him.
The plot gets a little more complex when a witch doctor arrives on the scene and starts extorting money from the villagers to ‘protect’ their children from evil spirits. Whilst the head pastor challenges the villagers trust in this witch doctor, it later becomes clear that they have been colluding to extort money from the village. The whole story challenges the integrity of the church and gullible congregations.
The Cursed Ones challenges the integrity of the church and the gullible villagers that blindly follow them. They are both to blame for the murders and the witch trials. There’s a lot going on in this film, which makes the plot a bit busy, but will keep you entertained throughout.
For a more artistic portrayal of ‘witches’ in Africa, check out Zambia’s I Am Not a Witch. It features another young girl, who is accused of being a witch because she doesn’t talk. It dives deeper into the prejudices and strange superstitions.
If you liked the mystery element of this film, I recommend watching October 1. It’s a Nigerian movie that follows an old policeman trying to solve 3 murder cases in a rural town to help Nigeria achieve independence from Britain.
Bigman Wahala is an enjoyable road-trip comedy with commercial appeal that focuses on the unlikely relationship between a poor taxi driver and a wanted former government official on the run. It never takes itself too seriously and even gets away with poking a bit of fun at both the ‘Bigman’ and military governments as well as the gullibility of the public.
Bigman Wahala starts with Honest, our friendly taxi driver, stuck in a traffic jam in Accra. The frantic John Woo style cutting rapidly builds pressure until Honest spots a gap in the traffic and races on home. It’s a sign that this road-trip comedy will be filled a few bursts of tense energy to propel it forward.
The next comes when an armed jeep full of soldiers carrying assault rifles descends on the Government building to stage a successful coup d’état. Like the opening traffic scene, the attack is full of fast cuts that cross the usual 180 boundaries of Hollywood cutting which makes it appear very chaotic. However, the insurgents win a quick victory that seems a bit too easy – perhaps a satirical jab at how many coups there have been in Western Africa over the last years. It’s presented as something a bit too familiar. Nevertheless, the insurgents quickly assume control of the airwaves and order all former government officials to report to their nearest police station. This is when we start following ‘Bigman’ Joseph, the former minister of the health department and follow his attempt to escape the country.
Our Bigman is comically selfish. As soon as he hears the news, he leaves his wife to collect his huge stash of money from the safe in his office. Whilst he’s there, some insurgents arrive to look for him, so he escapes through the back entrance and jumps into the nearest taxi, which just so happens to be driven by Honest. This kicks off a light buddy road trip movie between Bigman Joseph and Honest, as Honest helps Bigman to escape the country on lockdown.
Whilst the ending undermines the class boundaries which define the rest of the film in its’ we’re all human message, Bigman Wahala for the most part is a fun road trip comedy built on the classic Fish Out of Water and How the Mighty Have Fallen tropes.
Head to our Pan African Film Festival Hub for more reviews from PAFF 2020.
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