The bosses don’t always win, but Nigerian filmmaker Olalekan Afolabi’s Freedom Way makes it feel like that’s the case. Citizens of Lagos listen to the radio and watch the TV as they hear news about a certain ban. The ban concerns commercial motorcyclists, which directly affect Abiola (Adebowale Adedayo, a.k.a. Mr. Macaroni), the breadwinner of his family. The biggest concern for him is trying to support his wife Funke (Meg Otanwa) and his daughter Dara (Adebola-Walter Tiwalola). The only thing to do at the time is to get his bike back from the police impound. The ban also affects Themba (Jesse Suntele), Tayo (Mike Afolarin), beholden to their backers after the government banned their app.
It’s been a while since I talked about contrasts but Freedom Way thankfully gives me an opportunity to do so. Expectedly, it shows the difference between Themba and Tayo’s world in opposition with the one in which Abiola lives. Themba and Tayo are in offices, working in a glass version of a twenty-first century Gilded Age. Although they sometimes experience the life of the dusty streets where Abiola tries to move up and experiences some successes. I can only imagine some viewers seeing a scene involving Temi (Teniola Aladese) and thinking that it’s a Kafkaesque PSA. But the film as a whole is a grim reminder that people think twice about doing the right thing. Justice waves their hand, but to paraphrase the film’s one good cop, Kudirat (Bimbo Akintola), fixing things takes time.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Drama
- Release Date: 9/7/2024
- Directed by: Olalekan Afolabi
- Starring: Adebowale Adedayo, Jesse Suntele, Mike Afolarin
- Produced by: Blessing Uzzi
- Written by: Blessing Uzzi
- Studio: Bluhouse Studios
