Movie Review: Battle on Buka Street
The movie Battle on Buka Street, directed by Funke Akindele and Tobi Makinde, was first released to Nigerian Cinemas on December 16, 2022, and became the highest-grossing Nollywood movie, earning a total of ₦668,423,056 at the box office. Although it was released in 2022 and has since garnered critical acclaim, this is a fresh take for those who missed it at the cinema and are seeing it for the first time since it was put up on Prime Video a week ago.
Funke Akindele
Battle on Buka Street is a beautifully executed movie that takes a fresh spin on old Nollywood themes, dramatics, stories, and cinematography, reminding us why we loved Nollywood back then.
With its use of narrative storytelling and flashbacks, the movie introduces us to the history of the characters and gives us a safe landing in the present. Set on the fictitious Buka Street, we’re thrown into the world of a divisive polygamous home with two wives constantly at each other’s throats. Their intense rivalry gets handed down to their daughters and grandchildren, which leads to much more conflict than we are prepared for.
At first glance, it looks like a typical Nollywood story of rivals and conflict in a polygamous home, but as you dive deeper into the film, there are layers and layers of deep stories to uncover. The plot is well executed and offers a perfect blend of comedy and drama. For all the melodramatic moments, we are rewarded with emotional tearjerkers as the story progresses. We are also swamped with themes of family rivalry, revenge, injustice, japa syndrome, domestic violence, jealousy, anger, regret, love, and forgiveness.
With excellent performances by all the actors, from Nollywood icons Funke Akindele, Mercy Johnson, Nkem Owoh, Sola Sobowale, Tina Mba, and Femi Jacobs to newcomers such as Uche Obunse, Moshood Fattah, Judith Ushi, Mike Afolarin, Gbemi Akinlade, and Miracle Gabriel, it’s safe to say the movie evoked all the emotions it was looking to evoke in its audience.
The chemistry of all the actors in their various roles and onscreen relationships was likewise palpable. Special props to the directors, Funke Akindele and Tobi Makinde, because aside from a great execution of the plot, it takes good directors to push the actors in the right direction regarding their cumulative acting choices.
The cinematography was also very well done, and with vibrant colours where needed, the setting of Buka Street looked all too real from the moment it was introduced in the first scene. It looked like a busy street with an array of different kinds of foods being prepared by multiple food vendors. The market fight scene between Yejide (Funke Akindele) and Awele (Mercy Johnson) was also hilarious, and the choreography was well done! Costumes and makeup didn’t come to play either, as they helped define each character before they even spoke.
Again, Nollywood is evolving by inculcating more and more indigenous languages in our films. In Battle of Buka Street, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Pidgin are so naturally and fluently spoken, adding more colour and flavour to the movie.
Unfortunately, as with most movies with multiple layers to the plot, the ending wasn’t as appealing as the rest of the movie. Perhaps the writers, producers, and directors felt they had achieved enough at this point and decided to do a quick 20-minute wrap of the ending. It was obviously rushed, and sadly, it wasn’t in the best interest of some of the character arcs they had been building from the beginning, nor was it in the interest of the audience, who by this time had become invested in the secondary stories that filled the second half of the film.
Not everything is better left to the imagination of the audience, and the producers failed to see that. However, it’s not enough to dismiss the Nollywood cinematic masterpiece and wild ride that is the Battle on Buka Street. Finally, we would be making a huge mistake if we didn’t give proper nods to this movie’s music coordination and theme songs. They were somewhat subtle but contributed significantly to the overall essence of the movie.
