DVD review

Titanic Battle parts 1 and 2 – A Sequel to Prince Of My Heart

I finally worked up the nerve to ask our regular DVD rental store clerk for a recommendation on a Nigerian flick (commonly known as Nollywood) After a brief chuckle the clerk handed me one saying, “You watch this one”. I could have asked why he chose it but I didn’t. The clerk could have asked me what I like in a movie but he did not. I decided to take his recommendation first and to ask questions later. On my way home I noticed that the movie is a sequel. I think my first question will be why he didn’t want me to see the first part of the story.

It took a few days but Amber and I finally worked up the courage to put the movie in and give it a try. We’ve seen a few bits and pieces of these films on television in restaurants enough to know that these films are hard to sit through. They often have long segues between scenes where you are forced to see, for the twentieth time, the same clip of Lagos at rush hour and the same cars going over the same bridge, or a close up of the same ship in the harbor and then a pan out to the rest of the city’s skyline. During these segues there will be playing a bit of music. The same bit of music you’ve been hearing the whole way through the movie. It sounds like something that came already automated on a keyboard from Taiwan. No offense Taiwan, it’s just a reflection of the kind of budget the movie is working with. To clarify, these are low budget movies. The acting is amateur, the music is cheap, the footage is shot with a handheld digital camera, you get the feeling there is no script from time to time. So you can imagine why it took a while to work up the courage to watch one. It’s not that Amber and I are getting bored either. I feel pretty strongly about trying it before knocking it this time. I’m trying to understand the culture

After about twenty minutes of “The Story So Far” we’re feeling pretty well up to speed and I realize why we didn’t need to rent “The Prince Of My Heart”, the movie officially starts. Here is the outline. A young student named Collins played by Emeka Ike is caught between two rival girls. One girl, Evelyn played by Chika Ike (related?) is the daughter of a senator and the other, Stacy played by Omotola Jolade, is the daughter of the President of the Senate. Both are wealthy and one has it out for the other because of some beef between their fathers. They shower Collins with gifts and attention until one day while Collins and Evelyn are hanging out in the house that Stacy bought for Collins, Stacy walks in disgusted to find Evelyn in her house. Collins took off and, to his credit, warned Evelyn that Stacy was coming but she wasn’t budging. After a few harsh words a fight breaks out wherein Evelyn breaks a bottle for a weapon but Stacy clobbers her with a stool. The chapter ends with scenes of the recovery of Evelyn. She shows her strength by enduring a painful bandage removal process followed by some fancy jogging work and calisthenics on the roadside.

Part two begins with Collins up to his old shenanigans again. (That is what he calls them) This time it’s with his best friends little sister. He’s living in a part of town that is apparently unknown to Evelyn and Stacy because they seem to have lost track of him. They also seem to still be pissed about the whole thing. After a rather angry speech by Collins best friend, Charles, to his little sister, Benny, we find Collins and her in a hotel laughing and getting on rather well. Then they move to the bar. Collins explains that he is just hanging around until he writes his last paper for school and then he’s heading back home. She asks him about the other women. He explains he’s under pressure and can’t put up with their shenanigans. Yes, he uses the word “shenanigans”. Benny goes to the bathroom or something and comes back into the wrong room. The room where Evelyn is hanging out with her friends! And Stacy is staying in this hotel too! What are the odds? Collins and Benny get in a taxi and leave to go to Charles’s house. Stacy and her posse also get into a fluorescent green VW Jetta and go to interrogate Charles. Luckily Stacy and crew are much faster than Collins because they have enough time to get their info and leave before Collins shows up. I’d be mad at that taxi driver if I were Collins. Then it becomes apparent that Collins has a paper due so he sets to doing homework while Charles and Benny yell “What’s wrong with you?” The next scene is of a classroom getting ready for an exam. I assume this is Collins’s class but he’s not there. Collins is missing his exam to study! What? I’m lost. Sometimes it’s hard to hear what the actors are saying not only due to their accents but also because the dialog is often quieter than the music or the traffic on the street for that matter. Oh, I see. Collins is missing his exam because Stacy and her posse have captured him, Charles, and his little sister and are holding them hostage. It seems that Stacy is out to punish them and Stacy has guns. They take Benny from the room and as she screams Charles and Collins get into a fight. “Don’t take it too far man. You’ll regret it Charles.” “That’s my sister screaming, man. It’s because of you, man. You’ve taken it too far, man.” The next scene Stacy explains that Collins must marry her in order to get her freedom from her father. She must be married in order to get out of his tutelage or something. But Collins won’t marry her against his wish. Stacy loads them all into her car and drives to a dark street to try to convince Collins again. This is the big climax where Evelyn shows up with the cops to try to save Collins and his friends. I guess she really cared about him after all. In the end things don’t bode well for Stacy as the police shoots her because she wouldn’t drop her gun. Everyone leaves with Evelyn except for Collins who is taken in by the cops for questioning. The End

I realize that this review wouldn’t fit on the back of a DVD case. I’m sorry, I hope I haven’t bored you. I could have just written out the lyrics to the song played during the credits for it seems to be composed just for this movie. The lyrics describe the story perfectly. Jealously, Bitterness and hatred is what you get at the end. When you play love like a game and it’s for a selfish gain. Oh, oh, oh. His life is in danger for he has kindled her anger. She wants nothing more than to be his wife. Huh? That Stacy is totally nuts.