War, Sweat Charms in Adebayo’s Epic
Epic films are not new to Nollywood. Some of the oldest films out of Nollywood are narrations of the adventures of fictional and mythological heroes.
When Femi Adebayo’s Agẹṣinkólé: King of Thieves was released in April 2022, a new era of epic Yoruba films was birthed. Despite its flaws, Agẹṣinkólé received a warm reception. The film set new standards for modern Yoruba epic films mainly with its storytelling. Taking all the lessons from Agẹṣinkólé, Femi Adebayo sets a new milestone in modern Nollywood epic films with Jagun Jagun.
Jagun Jagun (The Warrior) tells the story of Gbọ́tìjà (Adedimeji Lateef), a young man with the gift of communicating with trees in the wild. He enrolls to train as a warrior in the academy of veteran mercenary and warlord, Ogúndìji (Femi Adebayo). Gbọ́tìjà seeks to avenge his father’s death during a raid on his home village. Rising through the ranks, Gbọ́tìjà soon starts to pose a threat to Ogúndìji who becomes wary of the young warrior’s potential. During his training, he gets romantically involved with Ogúndìji’s adopted daughter, Kìítán, and is adopted by Ogúndìji’s lieutenant, Gbógunmì.
Adebayo’s sophomore epic is a brilliant exhibition of Yoruba culture. Produced in collaboration with Anthill Studios, the film has also enjoyed a warm reception since its release in August 2023. Like a typical epic film, Jagun Jagun’s success is premised on its plot and plot twists. The plot follows the typical hero’s journey from trial to triumph, giving viewers enjoyable detours along the way. The screenplay of the film is by the veteran Nollywood filmmaker, Adebayo Tijani who also co-directed Agẹṣinkólé. Some of the extra magic Jagun Jagun offers is in its execution and everything else it borrows from Yoruba culture.
A highlight of the film is its dialogue which deftly leverages elements of Yoruba figures of speech and mannerisms. For instance, the recurrent play on Yoruba homographs Òògùn, Òógùn, and Ogun tinges mundane conversation in several instances e.g.
Òògùn àti Òógùn lafín jagun
(We fight with charms and sweat).
An implication of using the Yoruba language at this level is that mastery of the language becomes a litmus test for actors’ performance. Not all actors pass, begging some questions in casting. But for actors like Ibrahim Yekini Itele who plays the role of Gbógunmì, one of Ogúndìji’’s generals, it offers an opportunity to steal the show. Yekini does not just ingeniously navigate the delicate seas of language in the film, his role corrects a near flaw of the film- an acknowledgment of the Yoruba god of iron and patron god of warriors. This acknowledgment costs the character an extra homograph as whereas other characters only have to be wary of the tongue-twisting trio of Òògùn (charms), Òògùn (sweat), and Ogun (War), he has Ògún (the Yoruba god of Iron and war) to also worry about. Still, he shines.
The film features other veterans from the Yoruba film industry; Muyiwa Ademola, Dele Odule, Yinka Quadri, Fathia Williams, Odunlade Adekola among others. All actors bring their A-game in Jagun Jagun; from Femi Adebayo who plays the role of the maniacal Ogúndìji to the unusual faces like Ayo Ajewole (Woli Agba) and Yemi Elesho who are more popular for their comical skits. Actors like Aishat Lawal, Bimbo Ademoye, Adedimeji Lateef pay homage to Thespis- animating tragedy beautifully with support from the film’s musical arrangement.
The team from Anthill Studios led by Niyi Akinmolayan outdid themselves in the post-production efforts of the film with noticeable improvements from Agẹṣinkólé. The fighting scenes are much better, allowing viewers a seamless immersion into the plot. Surely, there’s still room for improvement but this is, without doubt, sets a new standard.
Speaking about the film in recent interviews, Adebayo and the Anthill studios team acknowledged the commitment to creating a better film than Agẹṣinkólé as a major drive for Jagun Jagun. This paid off. Ibrahim Chatta’s cameo at the end of the film suggests the possibility of a sequel. Luckily, in a world where villains abound, most people love a good hero story.
Adebayo’s film brings to mind the proverbial retreat of the ram to gather momentum. And if popular feedback is anything to go by, Jagun Jagun is one heck of a lunge.
