African comedy movies is a fascinating and quirky genre of foreign films. Major players are Nigeria's Nollywood, Yoruba, a people from West Africa, and South Africa. Measured in terms of sheer numbers of films released, Nollywood is one of the world's biggest contributors.
One film that is perhaps ironically billed as a Nigerian comedy is "Four Forty" (2012). Most of the scenes are played out on wooden tables and chairs in the gardens of a dusty village. Even with English dubbing, it is hard to find the comedy in this tale about a dull middle aged fart who takes advantage of an innocent teenager who is confined to a wheelchair. Eight weeks later in the story, the girls' parents are frogmarching her to his pad, demanding he take her off their hands. It is not hard to work out what has transpired here. Maybe the funny comes out in the sequel.
"The Gods Must Be Crazy" (1980, South Africa) is a series of five films set in Botswana. The final three, all of which were unofficial sequels to the first, were produced in Hong Kong. The central character of the film is Xi, who lives in a tribe that is completely oblivious to the rest of the world. The film catapulted N!xau, a Namibian bush farmer, to fame as the most noteworthy actor to come out of Namibia. The farmer-cum-film star died of tuberculosis while out on a hunting trip.
Among other things, "The Mangler" (1995) serves to illustrate the broad spectrum and richness of the genre. Here, a folding machine based in a laundry turns out to be possessed by the devil. Directed by Tobe Hooper and based on a short story by Stephen King called "The Night Shift, " which was published in a Stephen King anthology. The critics weren't impressed but with that pedigree and story line, it's a hard one to pass up.
The West African Yoruba tribe has evolved into a force in African cinema. The latest release to come from Yoruba is "EKO ONIBAJE" (2014, Yoruba), featuring Bolaji Amusan and Mistura Asunmo. Here, a man seeking personal growth allies with a group of businessmen whose product is defrauding innocent people by posing as disabled persons.
Strictly speaking, not a comedy, but one of the most significant African films ever made, Yaaba (Burkina Faso, 1989) depicts one of the most troubling dilemmas of modern life in Africa. This is the conflict between modernization, meaning taking on western characteristics, and maintaining its own cultural identity.
"The Nightingale's Prayer" from Egypt (1959) also does not meet the strict definition of a comedy, but then Four Forty is a comedy without any laughs. Here we have the story of gender inequality amongst the Arab nations. Directed by Henry Bakarat, the film is based on the Taha Hussein novel.
One of the best things about the intriguing genre of African comedy movies is their accessibility. Abundantly available for streaming over the Internet, hopefully someone will one day identify the comedy in Nollywood's "Four Forty." For a cinema buff looking for something out of the ordinary, this is a fantastic option and would make a great category for trivial pursuit-type questions.
One film that is perhaps ironically billed as a Nigerian comedy is "Four Forty" (2012). Most of the scenes are played out on wooden tables and chairs in the gardens of a dusty village. Even with English dubbing, it is hard to find the comedy in this tale about a dull middle aged fart who takes advantage of an innocent teenager who is confined to a wheelchair. Eight weeks later in the story, the girls' parents are frogmarching her to his pad, demanding he take her off their hands. It is not hard to work out what has transpired here. Maybe the funny comes out in the sequel.
"The Gods Must Be Crazy" (1980, South Africa) is a series of five films set in Botswana. The final three, all of which were unofficial sequels to the first, were produced in Hong Kong. The central character of the film is Xi, who lives in a tribe that is completely oblivious to the rest of the world. The film catapulted N!xau, a Namibian bush farmer, to fame as the most noteworthy actor to come out of Namibia. The farmer-cum-film star died of tuberculosis while out on a hunting trip.
Among other things, "The Mangler" (1995) serves to illustrate the broad spectrum and richness of the genre. Here, a folding machine based in a laundry turns out to be possessed by the devil. Directed by Tobe Hooper and based on a short story by Stephen King called "The Night Shift, " which was published in a Stephen King anthology. The critics weren't impressed but with that pedigree and story line, it's a hard one to pass up.
The West African Yoruba tribe has evolved into a force in African cinema. The latest release to come from Yoruba is "EKO ONIBAJE" (2014, Yoruba), featuring Bolaji Amusan and Mistura Asunmo. Here, a man seeking personal growth allies with a group of businessmen whose product is defrauding innocent people by posing as disabled persons.
Strictly speaking, not a comedy, but one of the most significant African films ever made, Yaaba (Burkina Faso, 1989) depicts one of the most troubling dilemmas of modern life in Africa. This is the conflict between modernization, meaning taking on western characteristics, and maintaining its own cultural identity.
"The Nightingale's Prayer" from Egypt (1959) also does not meet the strict definition of a comedy, but then Four Forty is a comedy without any laughs. Here we have the story of gender inequality amongst the Arab nations. Directed by Henry Bakarat, the film is based on the Taha Hussein novel.
One of the best things about the intriguing genre of African comedy movies is their accessibility. Abundantly available for streaming over the Internet, hopefully someone will one day identify the comedy in Nollywood's "Four Forty." For a cinema buff looking for something out of the ordinary, this is a fantastic option and would make a great category for trivial pursuit-type questions.
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