EDIKAN 1 and 2

NAME OF MOVIE: EDIKAN 1 AND 2
Director: Desmond Elliot
Script Writer: Uduak Isong Oguamanam
Executive Producers: Emem Isong, Desmond Elliot, Chidi Oguamanam
Production: An Emem Isong and Uduak Oguamanam
Release date: 2009
Genre: Comedy
Main Casts: Ini Edo [Inspector], Sophiana Jones [Ime], Ime Bishop [Pastor], Moses Armstrong [Etebom], Nse Ikpe Etim [Cynthia], Ini Ikpe [Idara]
Name of Reviewer: Usoro, Edima Udo
The Review [Plot summary]:
The movie unfolds with a girl [Ime] lying down on her bed with a knife in her hand pretending to be fast asleep. Her mother’s new husband [Etebom] enters her room with the intention of raping her thinking she is asleep. Ime gets up and threatens to stab him if he comes close but he tries to persuade her to sleep with him and that he won’ t tell her aunty [Idara.] She screams and runs out of the room.
EDIKAN 1 and 2 is about a young girl i.e. Ime [14yrs.] who was maltreated by her aunty and sexually abused by her uncle. Ime was not sent to school but was turned into a house help who cooks and feeds her uncle while the aunty goes to a visionless church. Mrs. Idara Etebom attends a church called CAMPAIGN FOR THE ERADICATION OF SMALL SCALE WITCHCRAFT. There, the owner and Pastor, Pastor Zechariah tells her that Ime is a witch who is turning her house upside down. She goes to her younger sister’s house [Cynthia] to complain that Ime wants to ruin her marital home and if it is possible for her to keep her. She also tells Cynthia that Ime claims that when she is not around, her husband tries to rape her and that she knows that her man cannot do such a thing. Her sister advices her to listen to the girl that there could be an atom of truth in it and that there is no prove to show that the girl is a witch. Cynthia also asks her if she has told her husband that the child is hers. Idara got angry and told her sister that the witches in their house have initiated her and eaten her heart and that she cannot tell Etebom due to the stress, fasting, assignment and prayer she went through to find a husband. She also said that the man would not have agreed to marry her if he knew she had a child already. Cynthia was surprised to hear that the man does not still know the truth. She tells her sister that it is not possible to keep Ime because she is an actress and will need to travel to many places.
One day, Cynthia was driving and saw Ime hawking orange on the street. She packs and tells Ime to enter the car so they could go and look for her mother. When they get home, they see Mr.Etebom and inquire about Idara. He tells them that she has gone to church and asked if there was any problem. That is when Cynthia speaks up and tells asks him why they would send Ime to hawk when she should be in school. As she leaves, she says to Ime, “Come with me let us go and look for your mother.” Mr.Etebom stands up and tells her to repeat herself. She tells s him to ask the wife when she returns. Cynthia goes to the church and pulls Idara out. Pastor Zechariah stops and tells that witches are following her. She shuns the man and leaves. The pastor then said ‘Church pray that God brings back our customer back…sorry member.’ When Idara got home, her husband threw her out of the house and accused her of adultery. She explains that she was married before but the man died in an accident. The funny part of it is that the house and everything belongs to her; her husband is jobless and depends on her money. He is also a womanizer. Idara moves in with her sister temporarily. Cynthia makes a mockery of her. She told Cynthia that she will go and meet her Pastor and go to beg her husband.
On the other hand, Pastor Zechariah accuses little children of practicing witchcraft and for the adults; he says it is their in-laws or relatives. He then gives them an assignment to do and collects money from them in the pretence of solving the problem. He charges from 100,000 naira up. Also, he threatens the children and tells them to accept by faith that they are witches or else they will starve to death. The poor children accept so that they will be fed. Mr. Etebom sent for his wife the following day and forgave her. Secretly, he was just acting angry but remembered that he needed to take another woman out and he did not have money. He actually brought her back because he needed money from her. She throws her daughter out because Pastor Zechariah said there was no cure after collecting a lot of money from her.
Desmond Elliot, who houses children that have been disowned because their parents feel they are the source of their problem, picks her up from the road. Ime gave her aunt’s number to him. Cynthia cried when she came and saw the state of her niece. She thanked Desmond and took her home. Mrs. Idara later found out the truth when Cynthia called the police to arrest her husband for attempted rape. Ini Edo the inspector ordered the arrest.
The Pastor too was arrested and sent to jail. He gave his life to Christ in jail when he was almost raped by the other prisoners. Cynthia decided to do a talk show to enlighten parents and guardians that their children are their tomorrow.

THEME: Betrayal, Hatred, Love
SETTING: Akwa Ibom State
COUNTRY: Nigeria
LANGUAGE: Ibibio. Subtitle: English
QUOTE: “Satan ama ata esid mfo” meaning, ‘Satan has eaten your heart.’
SOUNDTRACK: By Slam and Darlene Benson Cobhams
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SHOTS: Extremely close-up shot was used when the movie started. It showed only a girls hand then some one’s feet followed by the same hand holding a knife. Medium shot was also used when Mrs. Idara was abusing Ime when she got back from church in the first act. Close up shot was also used.
ANGLE: Mid- angle was used when Mrs. Idara was beating her daughter in the first act.
TRANSITION: Cut and was used to move from one scene to another.
CAMERA MOVEMENT: Hand held camera was used. Example is when Idara beat her daughter in the first Act.
CAMERA SPEED: Normal motion was used.

COSTUMIER: Ngozi Okafor
MAKE UP: Temison Etsede
CASTING: Emem Isong
CONTINUITY: Uche Alexmoor
DURATION OF MOVIE: 1:13:42

REFLECTIONS:
I was actually impressed by the Pastor especially when he was performing his ‘assignment’ and when he was arrested. Ini Edo as a police Inspector was very comical so was Cynthia. Mr. Etebom was also funny especially when he was teasing his wife to get money. I n conclusion, I feel that we need to be sure of something before we conclude because what goes around comes around.