The greatest gift life has offered each and everyone of us today, I believe is family. And even if we are unable to have such family from birth, we can always find someone to love, cherish and call family.
The movie, Introducing the Kujus, is a Nigerian comedy-drama, released in 2020 about a family, and how they struggle to maintain their bond. In this movie, we join the Kujus as they unravel a trail of humour and drama as they battle with the constant changes that comes with life, while still trying to restore their long lost bond.
Just like every other movie that seeks to impress, the Kujos consist of three major storyline, with one leading the whole story.
The Main story, is built on the basis of family reunion. In this part of the story we join Mausi(played by Bisola Aiyeola) and Maugbe (played by Timini Egbuson) as they create a plan to force their siblings, Maupe( played by Ronke Odusanya), Mautin( played by Femi Jacobs), Mauyon( played by Kunle Remi), who have been away in different parts of the country(Nigeria), to return to Ibadan for their dead mother's remembrance. Because this proved to be a mission impossible, they had to trick the most of them(Mautin and Mauyon) by promising them a huge some of money and a chieftaincy title In return. But as soon as the entire siblings arrive, all hell breaks loose, and the event begins to collapse as Mausi struggles to keep it afloat.
The second story is a stand alone story as it's origin is free from the drama of the Kujus but still involves the Kujus. Here we see Ebi( the daughter of Maupe played by Bimbo Ademoye) as she struggles to prove to her potential suitor Otunba( played by Chris Iheuwa) , that she is not interested in him.
While all this is going on we get a third story which is built on sibling rivalry. In this part of the story we get to see Mautin, the first son go head to head verbally with Maupe, who is the first daughter child to the Kujus. Their intense rivalry is not due to their age but due to a personal grudge that prevents them from breathing the same air.
Recently, I have been seeing most of the Nigerian movies try to copy the Hollywood tactics and in doing so, appear cringe to me. But, Introducing the Kujus, modernized itself without having to copy a foreign culture. It displayed it's classics scenes without eliminating the culture itself as you would notice in the wardrobe (costumes), the language and native names, as well as the location and the background set up.
Despite it being amazing, their were still some questions that need answering but the most important one for me would be, how on earth did Mautin and his wife arrive at Ibadan in a car when they clearly used a boat for transport?
And I know most of you reading may say it's an Uber or something, but the blunt truth is that it wasn't an Uber. They arrived in what I presume to be a Camry which had no driver inside. Yes, a car parked with no driver, had their laugages in it's boot. But after that scene the car was nowhere to be found.
Moving forward, my favorite part of this movie is without a doubt the intro( the early minutes of the film) where we see the mischievous twins(younger children of Maupe) as the run through the market place causing destruction on the way. It was simply hilarious to watch.
This review would not be complete, if I didn't give credits to the cast for delivering a believable performance. But the true G.O.A.T(greatest of all time) in this movie for me are Mausi(played by Bisola Aiyeola) and Maugbe ( played by Timini Egbuson).
Their performance as brother and sister really resonates with me, reminding me of how I do relate with my siblings. In all sense it is believable, and fun to watch.
Finally, Introducing the Kujus is nothing but a masterpiece, engraving modernization in Africa in the minds of the viewers without eliminating Africa, being hilarious while still telling the story of a broken family that needs to reclaim it's bond.
It is a comedy-drama film that is definitely worth the watch. 💯
