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“Lisabi: The Uprising” Review: Niyi Akinmolayan’s Dramatised Biopic Is a Deeply Contained Story

“Lisabi: The Uprising” Review: Niyi Akinmolayan’s Dramatised Biopic Is a Deeply Contained Story

Lisabi: The Uprising

Unbelievable VFX and minor storytelling flaws aside, Niyi Akinmolayan’s Lisabi: The Uprising is an immersive film. 

By Seyi Lasisi 

There is, as justifiable by the extensive list of epic films relentlessly produced by Nigerian filmmakers, a burning commercial and cultural interest of mainstream Nollywood filmmakers in producing films about the country’s cultural history. Notable examples include Femi Adebayo’s Jagun Jagun (2023), Kunle Afolayan’s Anikulapo (2022) and Anikulapo: Rise of The Spectre (2024), Odunlade Adekola’s Orisa (2024), Eniola Ajao’s Beast Of Two Worlds (2024) and Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo’s Kings of Thieves (2022). 

What these films share is the admirable enthusiasm of the filmmakers in setting the stories against the backdrop of the Yoruba cultural and metaphysical worldview. These films, though with notable technical and storytelling flaws, immerse viewers into the cultural, economic, and political history of the Yoruba people. Niyi Akinmolayan’s Lisabi: The Uprising is a recent addition to the long list of produced epics. 

Co-written by Niyi Akinmolayan and Yinka Olaoye, Lisabi: The Uprising cuts its narrative fabric from documented anecdotes of Lisabi, a towering legend from Igbehin, who originally hailed from the Egba village of Itoku. 

Lisabi, in documented history, notably led the Egba people in their revolt for independence from the oppressive rule of the Alaafin of Oyo, whose empire held most of Yorubaland to ransom. Portrayed by Lateef Adedimeji, Lisabi is depicted as a peaceful, selfless, and hardworking farmer. In contrast, Osokenu (Adebowale Adedayo), his close friend, embodies a lazy and carefree nature. However, despite their stark differences, the duo shares a deep bond of care and respect for each other.

Lisabi: The Uprising
Lisabi: The Uprising

Lisabi: The Uprising, the new Netflix Original, is a biopic about the historical Lisabi and, by extension, a celebration of Yoruba culture. The film primarily focuses on how the Egba people liberated themselves from the Oyo Empire.

The Alaafin of Oyo, portrayed by Odunlade Adekola, is depicted in the film as a powerful monarch with an insatiable desire to demonstrate his authority and demand annual tribute. When any town under his control defaults on delivering the required tribute, the Alaafin enlists the Sangodeyi (Ibrahim Chatta), the head of his tribute collectors, to unleash horror on the village that defaulted. 

What the tribute collectors do, aside from compelling villages to submit their annual tribute, is sexually assault women and kill people at will. Although Lisabi and other Egba people express their dissatisfaction in a subdued yet elevated tone, their concerns fall on deaf ears. Rather than alleviating the tyranny, their displays of discontent only intensify it.

One of the remarkable aspects of the film is how well-contained it is. The narrative picks up a simple story and does not take unnecessary detours. From the opening to the closing scenes, the seamless flow of the narrative allows for an immersive viewing experience. Despite its well-contained and enjoyable nature, there are seemingly minor but significant blunders. 

Osokenu is portrayed as a lazy and complacent individual. Although he, like other residents of Egba, actively resents the tribute collectors, he does not channel his irritation into taking up arms. When his bride is sexually assaulted by Sangodeyi and he finally decides to fight back, it is understandable. However, what strains credibility is how this supposedly lazy man becomes mysteriously skilled and powerful enough to kill ten trained soldiers.

Lisabi: The Uprising
Lisabi: The Uprising

Additionally, there are numerous scenes that repeatedly depict the tribute collectors’ propensity for violence. However, these repetitive scenes fail to introduce anything new to the story.

The architectural feel of the film is deserving of attention and praise. Despite the lack or absence of architectural structures that can accommodate epic film settings in Nigeria, Nigerian filmmakers have risen to the occasion by building film villages. While it is easy to nitpick and point out that the structures used in these epic films often do not look lived in, thus detracting from their verisimilitude, one must also ask: where are the structures that can suitably accommodate such epic settings? 

Tolu Obanro, Adam Songbird, and, by extension, Anthills Studio have been at the forefront of curating the perfect and soothing sonic experience with Nollywood films. From creating the sound for Battle on Buka Street (2022) and A Tribe Called Judah (2023), ‘Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys (2018) and Jade Osiberu’s Brotherhood (2022) and Gangs of Lagos (2023), Akinmolayan’s House of Secrets (2023), the duo has been instrumental in creating soundtracks and sound that capture the mood and feel of each films. 

The soundtracks used in pivotal scenes in Lisabi: The Uprising align perfectly with the themes of those scenes. When the Alaafin and Lisabi are introduced, the art direction and cinematography, handled by Barnabas Emordi and Nora Awolowo, not only capture the tension associated with the Alaafin but also the economic freedom that farming brings.

Moreover, Obanro and Songbird’s soundtrack further amplifies the emotional impact of these scenes. One can listen to the original soundtrack (OST) without watching the film and still gain a sufficient understanding of its narrative.

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As a Nigerian or African viewer of the film, you won’t be making vague assertions if you contrast Alaafin to any despotic African president for that matter. Similar to the Alaafin in Lisabi: The Uprising,  the African ruling elite do not need to know you personally or be familiar with the road map to your house; however, their economic, social, and political policies can profoundly affect your life.

Thus, though set in a pre-colonial Nigerian political epoch, the film easily lends itself to contemporary political conversations. By watching the movie, one can infer the image of the average African political elite being apathetic to their social responsibilities (as shown by Alake’s response to Lisabi’s communal farming idea) and the tyrannical and omniscient Alaafin paralleling Africa’s ruling class.  

Lisabi: The Uprising
Lisabi: The Uprising

Beyond this, the film also empathises with the working class and informs them of their responsibilities in instigating a social and political revolution in society. The Alaake (played by Muyiwa Ademola), a fitting representation of the monarchy and ruling class of that period, remains complacent in curtailing the tyranny of the Alaafin and his tribute collectors.

For Nigerians watching the film and reading this review, the Lisabi-inspired revolt points to the Marxian theory of oppression. The ruling class and their benefactors will never topple the political and social structures that benefit them. Only the working class can save itself from capitalist exploitation. 

It has been announced that Lisabi: The Uprising will be released in two parts, with the concluding part, Lisabi: A Legend is Born, scheduled for early 2025. While viewers await the final installment, they can rest assured that it promises to be an enjoyable watch. Despite some unbelievable VFX and minor storytelling flaws, Niyi Akinmolayan’s Lisabi: The Uprising is an immersive film. 

Rating: 3/5

(Lisabi: The Uprising  is currently streaming on Netflix.)

Seyi Lasisi is a Nigerian creative with an obsessive interest in Nigerian and African films as an art form. His film criticism aspires to engage the subtle and obvious politics, sentiments, and opinions of the filmmaker to see how they align with reality. He tweets @SeyiVortex. Email: seyi.lasisi@afrocritik.com.

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