Welcome once again; today we're going to be reviewing a movie titled Ijakumo: The Born Again Stripper. A very interesting movie, I must say. Well, as you read along, I'm sure you will find out and know if it's worth your time as well or not.
Now, the storyline follows the story of a guy named Jide; he happens to be in a relationship with a lady called Asabi. Things went somehow after Jide hurt Asabi, and they both went their separate ways. Along the line, Jide claimed to have been called by God, and that was how he started a different life as a pastor, a very wealthy one at that. But then, his salvation is worthy of questioning, and the reason is that his life in the church and in the pulpit is totally different from the life he actually lives; he's involved with secret organizations, he goes to clubs, and he does all sorts of unholy things.
Asabi on her part too was living her life while she was as well preparing herself well to take revenge on Jide who had left her at a time when she needed someone the most. Like I said earlier, there's a lot to Jide as a self-acclaimed man of God; I would confidently say he's a fake pastor. To cut the the story short, he got involved with a stripper at the club who was also one of his church members and in no time, he got so attracted to her, her name was Sharon. Meanwhile, he didn't know that Asabi and Sharon are both together and are planning for his downfall. Jide's secret began to get to the open, and at the end, their past caught up with them.
Ijakumo is an amazing film, one that would make you question a lot of things, especially on issues relating to religion. It makes you see things that could actually be going wrong, how some self-proclaimed men of God are out there claiming to be called by God but in the real sense aren't. It makes you see and understand that what you see on the platform and in public is different from what is happening behind the scenes.
Kunle Remi acted as Jide, the pastor, and I must say he's the perfect fit for that role. He knows how to carry himself like a respectable pastor that his church members know him to be, and he knows how to do it the other way that those in his secret and inner circles know him to be too. And I must commend the guy who acted the younger version of Jide; the guy did amazingly well. This is to say that the producers and directors deserve applause; they did greatly well with the transition.
Also, Toyin Abraham acted as Asabi, the lady seeking revenge. And I love how she played her role so well. She's definitely right for seeking revenge; Jide did bad, so it's just right for her to want to do something. I can't just say she's a bitter woman; she has her reasons, and her reasons are valid. That made me enjoy the movie, as they actually allowed us to see where her anger and bitterness are coming from.
Also, Lolade acted as Sharon, and I must confess that she did amazingly well too. She's known as both Mary and Sharon in the movie, depending on if she's in church or if she's doing her stripper work at the club.
Now, even though I enjoyed the movie so much, I wouldn't say I don't have things to point out. One is that the movie is just too complicated, not as if I don't understand it, I did, but so many things were just too happening all together, at a time. There's the secret organization, there are the various criminal activities, there are the plans of Asabi, there's the congregation and spiritual elements, there's the romance...a lot. They aren't really building on each so well; before you're done digesting this, another is up, and you're left to wonder how come....
Also, I feel the movie does too much explanation. Yeah, we already know what's going on; we can tell, we can read the emotions, we can see. You don't need to go all the way to spell it out to us, thereby using the time that should have been used to build on other scenes and characters to do explanations.
Another thing I have an issue with is the title. Yeah, we can see the stripper; we saw the stories surrounding her and all, but the whole story was actually centered on Jide and Asabi, so why the title? The story didn't exactly revolve around the stripper or her transformation; it was on Jide and Asabi's planned revenge.
I didn't regret watching this movie, not at all. The actors did greatly well, and the performance was great.
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Images are screenshots taken from the movie.
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Rating: 80/100
