Everybody knows that Hollywood is the cinema capital of America. Most movie buffs are aware of Bollywood in India. What may surprise many film-goers is Nollywood, the center of the Nigerian film industry, produces a share of the world's African comedy movies. Nollywood produces a significant contribution to the global film pool. Yoruba, a tribe in West Africa and South Africa also have active film enterprises.
If you are going to close your eyes and leap into a pile of Nigerian film comedies, perhaps "Four Forty, Part I" (2012, Nigeria) may possibly not be the best place to start. Most of the scenes play out in the dusty gardens of a small village where a bored and lazy middle aged man amuses himself in the arms of an innocent teenager who is confined to a wheelchair. Two months later, the girl's parents march her angrily to his front garden and dump her into his custody. While it is not at all difficult to work out what has transpired here, what is difficult is trying to find the funny here.
One of South Africa's overwhelmingly popular contributions to the genre is "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (1980). Here, we discover the story of Xi, whose tribe is isolated its members are blissfully unaware of the existence of the world beyond its borders. The leading role of Xi is played by a man who became Namimibia's most famous actor, N!xau, whose previous career was as a bushfarmer in Namibia, died in 2003 from an illness acquired while hunting for guinea fowl.
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 Yoruba tribe is an ethnic group of people from southwestern Nigeria and Benin in West Africa. They have evolved their own genre in African cinema. In "EKO ONIBAJE" (2014), featuring Mistura Asunmo and Bolaji Amusan, a man seeking greener pastures joins a group of entrepreneurs whose "business" is defrauding people by pretending to be disabled.
One of the most important African movies ever made is not a comedy. This is "Yaabo" (1989, Burkina Faso), showing one of the most persistent dilemmas of modern African life. This is the battle between maintaining a cultural identity of its own versus allowing itself to become westernized in the name of modernization.
Another less than funny but not insignificant film was "The Nightingale's Prayer" (1959, Egypt). One of the most salient movies ever made by Egypt, the story is about gender inequality in Arabic culture. Directed by Henry Bakarat, the film represented Egypt in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category in the 32nd Academy Awards in 1960, although the film was not accepted as a nominee.
What is lovely about African comedy movies is you don't need to jump a plane to Africa to view them. Many of Africa's best are available online for streaming. Hopefully, this will prompt someone to find the comedy in Nollywood's "Four Forty."
If you are going to close your eyes and leap into a pile of Nigerian film comedies, perhaps "Four Forty, Part I" (2012, Nigeria) may possibly not be the best place to start. Most of the scenes play out in the dusty gardens of a small village where a bored and lazy middle aged man amuses himself in the arms of an innocent teenager who is confined to a wheelchair. Two months later, the girl's parents march her angrily to his front garden and dump her into his custody. While it is not at all difficult to work out what has transpired here, what is difficult is trying to find the funny here.
One of South Africa's overwhelmingly popular contributions to the genre is "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (1980). Here, we discover the story of Xi, whose tribe is isolated its members are blissfully unaware of the existence of the world beyond its borders. The leading role of Xi is played by a man who became Namimibia's most famous actor, N!xau, whose previous career was as a bushfarmer in Namibia, died in 2003 from an illness acquired while hunting for guinea fowl.
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 Yoruba tribe is an ethnic group of people from southwestern Nigeria and Benin in West Africa. They have evolved their own genre in African cinema. In "EKO ONIBAJE" (2014), featuring Mistura Asunmo and Bolaji Amusan, a man seeking greener pastures joins a group of entrepreneurs whose "business" is defrauding people by pretending to be disabled.
One of the most important African movies ever made is not a comedy. This is "Yaabo" (1989, Burkina Faso), showing one of the most persistent dilemmas of modern African life. This is the battle between maintaining a cultural identity of its own versus allowing itself to become westernized in the name of modernization.
Another less than funny but not insignificant film was "The Nightingale's Prayer" (1959, Egypt). One of the most salient movies ever made by Egypt, the story is about gender inequality in Arabic culture. Directed by Henry Bakarat, the film represented Egypt in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category in the 32nd Academy Awards in 1960, although the film was not accepted as a nominee.
What is lovely about African comedy movies is you don't need to jump a plane to Africa to view them. Many of Africa's best are available online for streaming. Hopefully, this will prompt someone to find the comedy in Nollywood's "Four Forty."