Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bus riders robbed and abducted; violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Soole
What's the Story?
Somewhere in Nigeria, a crooked bus driver (Shawn Faqua) solicits passengers at exorbitant ticket prices, assembling a varied bunch for the long ride to Enugu in SOÓLÈ. Among them are a nun-in-training (Adunni Ade) who is looking for funds for her orphanage. A pregnant woman and her husband are also along for the ride. A graybeard who manifests a bow and arrow out of nowhere is also on board. There's a man (Femi Jacobs) who, flashbacks inform us, is a trained spiritualist able to karate-chop attackers into mouth-foaming epilepsy. He can also conjure a machete out of thin air and has a way with virgin urine. Criminals have infiltrated the group, with an implausible plot to steal a suitcase full of dollars stowed under the bus. A woman poses as a religious fanatic but is actually running a baby factory (she kidnaps young women, has them impregnated, and then sells the babies). Almost everyone on the bus is either shot or imprisoned. The screams of women being raped or forced to deliver babies are heard in the background for the last 30 minutes.
Is It Any Good?
Soólè is a solid nominee for the worst movie of the year, any year. It would be wonderful to report that the badness is comic, but sadly it's just boring. A character cautions, "Let us not be collectively unfortunate," but those who stumble on this title will most certainly fall into that category. The clownish acting, the misjudged direction, and the senseless story are all part of a picture of overall incompetence. Even the mind-boggling absurdity of the plot fails to make this interesting. Nearly all communication among characters is delivered in loud voices and states of agitation bordering on bonkers. Whether prompted by the mere uttering of words from the Bible or by men shooting automatic weapons, the characters' responses are the same: panic, fury, spitting anger, jumping up and down, and yelling. This state of constant unnatural excitement makes it difficult to sort out important information from the unimportant and justifiably emotional moments from ones in which emotions seem to run high for no good reason. The first half-hour is just shy of unwatchable. The rest is worse. Just for fun, 30 minutes or so are shot almost entirely in red light.
With an annual output of nearly 2,500 films, Nigeria's Nollywood is the world's second-largest film industry, right behind India's Bollywood. Perhaps the films that don't make it out of the country are actually good. One would like to hope. As one character observes, "Even a bad clock is correct twice a day." Sorry, not this clock.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether the story or the main characters are credible. Does it matter if they're unrealistic? Why, or why not?
Does this movie seem oddly obsessed with urine? What do you think that means?
The movie suggests that magic offers certain people skills and powerful protections. Does that revelation fit the tone of the rest of the movie? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 14, 2022
- Cast : Adunni Ade , Lateef Adedimeji , Mike Afolarin
- Director : Kayode Kasum
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Director(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 116 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : October 24, 2022
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