MOVIE REVIEW: Far From Home: Great Storyline That Hits Close To Home

Movie Title: Far From Home

Duration: 40 minutes per episode

Release date: December 16, 2022

Manufacturer : Ishioma Osage

Cast: Mike Afularin, Funk Akindele , Richard Moffei-Damigo, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Bulanle Nynalofu, Genoveva Umeh, Bimbo Akintola, Linda Ejiofor, Chioma Akpota, Femi Branch, Carole King and Uvuma McDermott.

Since the release of the South African series Blood and Water, it's no secret that we've been crossing our toes. We were hoping that a Nigerian production company would hire a screenwriter and bring our youth series to Netflix or other streaming platforms.

Luckily, our prayers were answered when Inkblot teamed up with Netflix to release a teaser trailer followed by a teaser trailer for Netflix's first original Nigerian youth series, Far From Home.

We live in a world where many Nigerian viewers are exposed to Hollywood youth dramas like Riverdale, I Never Been and many Korean high school dramas.

Therefore, people had certain hopes for Far From Home. And it's safe to say that the five-part series has met most of them.

Be it great choices, intriguing stories, great moral lessons or beautiful locations, Home Away From Home has captured the hearts of TV critics, thousands of Nigerians and most importantly, is among the top 10 best Netflix movies.

Section

The first episode introduces us to Isaiah Bello (Mike Afolarin), an aspiring artist who strives to succeed despite the obstacles of being from a low-income family.

The opportunity arises when he is selected to participate in an art exhibition hosted by the famous artist Essien. Unfortunately, he has to pay more than one hundred thousand naira to be accepted into the scheme.

Meanwhile, Isaiah encourages his sister to pursue her dream of getting a scholarship to Académie de Villiers. After noticing her sisters' lack of interest and her shocking revelation that the scholarship comes with a cash prize of $10,000, she decides to apply.

With the help of illegally obtained test answers, he entered the school and realized that after the expenses, he was left with 5,000 naira. Before entering school, Isaiah stole money from his boss/drug lord Sarkar to use for scholarship exams.

A few weeks later, Sarkar and his partner Rambo visit Isaiah, threatening to kill him and his family. To protect his sister, he offers to become a drug dealer at Willmar Academy.

On the first day, he meets the founder's niece, Carmen, and begins to have feelings for her. He also meets Pima and Frank, who quickly become his best friends.

Things are going well as Isaiah thrives off the drug trade. Problems arise again when Isha's ex-girlfriend tells her about her confrontation with Rambo.

Because he owes Brambo a lot of money, he hatches a plan with Isaiah to kidnap Frank. After a successful kidnapping, Rambo offers to start over, but this time with Carmen.

Isaiah refuses and returns to run the school to get him out of trouble. The government is arrested, but Rambo escapes.

Once the dust seems to have settled, Rambo returns and unleashes an unexpected rage on Isaiah and his friends. His plan is thwarted when the students become defensive and Adufe later betrays him.

Finally, we see Isaiah pursue his dreams. However, the survival of Rambo and the government gives way to a difficult season.

OKAY

This series has a lot of character development. We see each character grow throughout the show. First there is Isaiah, who started out as selfish and ambitious but grew into a man who takes responsibility for his mistakes. Also, Adufe is different from a woman who struggles to stand on her own two feet to a strong and independent woman.

The cinematography is also excellent. Venues, especially the Filmar Academy, are a luxury sold to us throughout history. Another interesting feature is the lighting. Each scene receives enough light to make it look more realistic.

Thanks to the Casting Director for ensuring that we have a positive view of the future of Nollywood. Despite their age and experience, the actors make their characters feel close and we can't help but support them.

The story is very beautiful. An interesting idea to describe what it means to be a hunter for the dreamer from below. And the fact that the plot development was not linear, but rather had twists and turns, is a real catch.

Bad boy

Far from home, the sense of the unknown was missing. Although there are parts of the series that we were interested in, most of the scenes were suitable for a series with a lot of interests.

Another negative feature is the underdevelopment of some characters. A good example of this is the general who stole Isaiah's answer. More could have been done in building this character. With a few lines and more action, he could quickly become a potential villain that captivates audiences.

To be honest, more could have been done with this whole story. The writers could have gone further and incorporated complex and ambiguous elements into the story.

Last but not least, we have to talk about clothes. The outfit is good, but the other clothes are not so good. For a series that seems to portray the lives of rich young men, I swear I've seen some of them dressed in clothes you could easily find at Yaba Bazaar.

final verdict

8/10. look at him. This is a rising series that has us excited about young talents ready to conquer Nollywood.

Far From Home is now streaming on Netflix.

RM "Still Life (with Anderson .Pak)" Official MV