Relentless (2010 film)

Relentless is a 2010 Nigerian drama film, co-produced and directed by Andy Amadi Okoroafor; it stars Gideon Okeke, Nneka Egbuna, Jimmy Jean-Louis and Tope Oshin Ogun.[1][2] It was released on 13 October 2010 at the BFI London Film Festival, and was positively received; mostly praised for its cinematography and soundtrack.[1][3]

Relentless
Film poster
Directed byAndy Amadi Okoroafor
Produced byAaron Allred
Elise Jalladeau
Isolde Pringiers
Andy Amadi Okoroafor
Written byAndy Amadi Okoroafor
Starring
Music byArnaud Boivin
CinematographyJavier Arrontes
Edited byOctavio Rodriguez
Production
company
Clam Films
Release date
  • 13 October 2010 (2010-10-13)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryNigeria
Germany
France
LanguageEnglish

The film which is set in Freetown and Lagos, narrates the story of Obi (Gideon Okeke), a Nigerian peacekeeping soldier who has been deployed to war-torn Sierra Leone. Obi's world is crushed after Blessing, a Sierra Leonean woman whom Obi loves, is mutilated by a gang of child soldiers and he's forced to kill her in order to put her out of pain and misery. He eventually returns to Lagos after the war, and tries to reintegrate himself into his community; in the process, he finds solace in the arms of a prostitute, Honey (Nneka Egbuna) who may help him forget his haunting past and lead him to self-discovery.

Cast

Production

Okoroafor, the director states: "This is a film that hopefully will make you laugh, cry, travel, escape but most specially, it will make you think about contemporary Africa".[1] The film was in production for four years.[4]

Music and soundtrack
Relentless: Soundtrack Collection
Soundtrack album by
Philippe Mallier & Pascal Morel
Released2010
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length1:43:04
LabelShining Music, Copyright Control
ProducerArnaud Boivin

The music score for the film was produced by Arnaud Boivin. Original score was composed by Philippe Mallier and Pascal Morel,[5] while the soundtrack features artistes such as: Ade Bantu, Tony Allen, Oranmiyan, Nneka, General Pype and Keziah Jones.[3][6][7]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Hustler"Tony Allen13:01
2."Champion"General Pype6:08
3."No Accommodation in Lagos"Tony Allen12:07
4."Afro Disco Beat"Tony Allen10:29
5."Out Of Space"Nneka, DJ Farhot4:08
6."African Border"Ade Bantu, Patrice4:38
7."Yoruba Girl (Moje Dodo)"Kuku4:37
8."Lovely Thing"Nneka, DJ Farhot4:01
9."Dreams keep my frown away"Kuku3:56
10."Troway your sorrow"Oranmiyan4:40
11."The same blood"Tony Allen8:13
12."Respect Yaself"Nneka, Oranmiyan3:29
13."Show them love"Ade Bantu, African China2:28
14."I’m waiting"Ade Bantu, Nneka4:31
15."Get together"Tony Allen5:56
16."Sign and Wonda (Chelu)"Ezelle4:32
17."Won’t you stay"Keziah Jones3:04
18."Honey's Theme"Philippe Mallier, Pascal Morel1:40
19."Obi's Theme"Philippe Mallier, Pascal Morel1:26
Total length:1:43:04

Release

The film was released on 13 October 2010 at the BFI London Film Festival.[1][8] It was also screened at the 2012 New York African Film Festival[9] and also at the Film Club, Nigeria in 2012.[10]

Reception

The film was positively received; it was mostly commended for its cinematography and soundtrack. Wendy Okoi-Obuli of "Shadow and Act" commended the cinematography, Okeke's performance and the music. She described the film as "art house" and concluded by stating: "Relentless is a welcome and refreshing take on the exploration of contemporary Nigeria in film".[3] Bunmi Ajiboye praised the cinematography of the film, its music, production design, characterization and its apt portrayal of Lagos. She particularly praised Okeke's performance and concluded: "Watching the movie, you may not understand why the rationale behind certain actions are not clearly defined, yet you can't help feeling it was more a product of artistic necessity than cinematographic cock-up. Relentless is Okoroafor's first shot at feature length movie and it is a brilliant debut as the film speaks for itself;" Those who opt out of seeing this film "will be depriving themselves of a great opportunity to see how Nigerian cinema is evolving".[11] Ade Bantu comments: "...I was highly impressed; Relentless is the ultimate Lagos movie, a well executed art-house piece of cinematic beauty".

See also

References
  1. Kamile (June 2010). "Relentless (starring Nneka Egbuna) [teaser]". The Liberator. The Liberator Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  2. "Relentless (Upcoming Movie Starring Nneka, Jimmy Jean etc)". African Movie Reviews. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  3. Okoi-Obuli, Wendy (1 April 2013). "Review - Andy Okoroafor's 'Relentless' (Arthouse Exploration Of Contemporary Nigeria)". IndieWire. Shadow and Act. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  4. "GIDEON OKEKE, NNEKA, AND JIMMY JEAN-LOUIS STAR IN RELENTLESS". Nollywood Mindspace. Nollywood by Mindspace. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  5. "Relentless Press Kit (soundtrack)". August 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. Bantu, Ade (23 December 2010). "New Movie "Relentless" features songs by Bantu". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  7. O, Onos (16 April 2012). "BN Bytes: International Superstar Nneka Now An Actress? The Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter Stars in "Relentless"". Bella Naija. bellanaija.com. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  8. Akideinde, Oye (6 October 2010). "360Trailers: "Relentless" starring Jimmy Jean-Louis, Gideon Okeke & Nneka Egbuna". 360Nobs.com. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  9. ""Relentless" (Familiar Nollywood Film To Debut in New York African Film Festival next month)". Nigerian Online Community. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  10. "The Film Club Screens New Nigerian Movie "Relentless"". Connect Nigeria. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  11. Ajiboye, Bunmi (21 September 2011). "'Relentless': discordant and unmissable". Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
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