My Father’s Shadow marks an impressive debut feature for director Akinola Davies Jr. It clearly stems from a place of deep feeling: Davies Jr. co-wrote the screenplay with his brother, Wale Davies, so it’s little surprise that the narrative’s focus on sibling relationships feels so convincing.
The film takes place in Nigeria in 1993, primarily in the city of Lagos, at a point where the country finds itself on a knife-edge. The imminent presidential election will determine whether Nigeria will embrace a democratic government or a military insurgency. Not unlike Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, the film is deeply in tune with its environment, almost akin to Terrence Malick’s work in the early stages, as we’re introduced to twin boys Olaremi and Akinola, played by real-life siblings Godwin Chiemerie Egbo and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo.
The boys are being raised in a small village by their mother, who is largely an off-screen presence. They are at home alone, messing around and teasing each other as brothers will do. The presence of vultures circling overhead and the prominently mixed sound of wind blowing through the trees augurs a great change in their lives – Davies Jr.’s film often attains the mysterious feel of a classic fable in such moments.
Returning indoors, the boys discover the arrival of their estranged and absentee father, Fola (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù), who is introduced as an overbearing and selfish presence. He needs to return to Lagos and, pressed for time, decides to take the boys with him on a life-changing odyssey. Along the way, Fola reveals the fatherly compassion and fierce loyalty that lurk beneath the blithe surface, not to mention his black market alias ‘Capo’.
The movie is an eloquent mixture of the personal and the political, juxtaposing the collapse in Nigerian political faith with the lads’ interrogation of their father. Why is he so frequently absent? Does Fola love their mother? And what do these prolonged absences mean for two boys on the cusp of adulthood? Davies Jr.’s skilful direction deftly matches the personal implosions within the domestic unit with the frequent shots of roving militants and blaring news reports on TV screens.
The anguish that the boys are feeling is mirrored outwardly in a city that feels ready to tear itself apart at any moment. Davies Jr.’s cinematic language in My Father’s Shadow sensibly relies on the show-don’t-tell method to make its impact, revelling in the tactile onslaught of the sights, sounds and smells of Lagos. The omnipresent threat of an empowered military sits alongside the joy of shared eating or a revealing trip to the beach, a downed and rusted oil tanker lurking in the background like a melancholy portent.
The acting is uniformly superb. Dìrísù, a rising star off the back of Slow Horses and Gangs of London, subtly chips away at Fola’s hardened exterior, assaying a father who loves his children but whose past is due to catch up with him (fragmentary close-ups allude to his torture during a military massacre, here dubbed Bonny Camp, but Davies Jr refreshingly leaves it to us to fill in the blanks).
It’s perhaps unsurprising that the Egbos are utterly convincing as warring siblings, whether they’re arguing over buying ice creams for one another, warming up to the contradictions inherent in their father, or expressing a slow-burning sense of instinctive terror toward the febrile political situation. Duval Timoty and CJ Mirra’s eclectic soundtrack is another huge asset, conveying both jittery anxiety and pastoral, healing calm in line with the film’s emotional odyssey.
It builds to a suitably devastating climax in the classic coming-of-age tradition: the getting of knowledge always comes with an element of sacrifice, whether it’s physical or emotional. Davies Jr.’s ability to take us inside this landscape, one riven with terror and empathy in equal measure, ensures that My Father’s Shadow remains a gripping watch throughout.
★★★★
Screened as part of the 2025 BFI Film Festival / Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Godwin Chiemerie Egbo, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo / Dir: Akinola Davies Jr / MUBI
Related
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
