Parents' Guide to House of Ga'a

Femi Branch puts in a commanding performance, but the script is overly melodramatic. Going for an epic kind of feel, a lot of the writing in House of Ga'a feels like it's trying to do too much. Too much time is spent on the emotional reactions of some characters. Too much time is spent on Game of Thrones-style family political intrigue. Too little time is spent on Oyemekun, who is the film's narrator, but who is also not in the film that much. And while this is certainly a historical drama -slash-biopic, the women are still relegated to very subservient roles, literal "slaves," "wives," and "concubines" whose only roles are to support the men, serve them sexually, and raise the children. The biggest individual women's role is in the character of Zeinab, who tells Ga'a initially, "You may have my body, but not my heart ... that you have to earn." But then not 20 minutes later, after being kind of saved from harm, Zeinab declares to Ga'a that she wants to also give him her heart. Then her character disappears from the story almost completely.

The other main issue is that none of these characters are likable. Bashorun Ga'a has the most screen time, but he's selfish, mean, abusive, and power hungry, and there's quite frankly nothing charming about him. Certainly, this story is about his downfall, but by the end, it doesn't feel like it. Rather, it feels more like this is a story about someone whose time finally came up. Bashorun Ga'a ran out of luck, and his downfall feels just as inconsequential as his rise. What was the impact of his reign? Did people realize a better way to govern afterward? Does this moment of Nigerian history serve to tell a moral? What is it? That if you treat people badly, only think of yourself, and behave immorally, that you will eventually be held accountable for it? If so, then this film fails to convey such a lesson. And lastly, by the end, Oyemekun doesn't even get any justice for his fallen love.