Prophetess (also spelled Prophe+ess) is a comedic premise with a lot of dramatic situations from one of Nigeria’s most popular new directors, Niki Akinmolayan. I think the comedy is supposed to be a farce with exaggerated situations, but I was never quite sure. In fact, there were so many things going on that I had to watch it twice to try to understand the plot.
The story
The story begins with Dipo (Kunle Remi), a social media influencer, whose family drags him to visit prophetess Ajoke (Toyin Abraham), in the hope that he will settle down and get married. Instead, he live streams his visit and asks the prophetess for predictions on a Champions League game, a reality show, and a local football match. When the first 2 predictions come true, people flock to the prophetess’ church. The third prediction is 2 weeks away, and although their local team Wonder Boyz is in the relegation zone, the whole town bets on their team to beat the league leaders, at greater than 20:1 odds.
This is where the story gets complicated. The betting company receives huge wagers, and Buntus the Brand manager (Stan Nze), warns his boss of the financial danger if Wonder Boyz wins. A local gang wants Wonder Boyz to lose. Under all the pressure, the coach quits. The prophetess’ long-estranged family has unintentionally bet on the game, using all the money meant for grandma’s operation. The sister Labake (Kehinde Bankole) and the gang try to expose the prophetess as a fraud, which reflects on the influencer. There is a lot of chasing and beating of the disgraced Ajoke and Dipo.
But the bets are still on. The family, the influencer, the prophetess, and the community all work together to recruit a new coach and new players, and to make the team fulfill God’s words and make the 3rd prediction come true.
I think I got it all…
The soccer
The soccer is pretty poor, although the filmmakers created a nice fan atmosphere in Liberty Stadium. There is a “comedic” moment during the big game when one of the ganglord’s thugs is sent onto the field to injure 3 opponents and get them removed from the game.
In conclusion
I was particularly confused with the prophetess character. She starts off seeming to be a pentecostal sham, with her apparent seizures due either to fakery or epilepsy, for which she drinks some herbal medicine from a liquor bottle. But by the end of the film, she has told her followers they shouldn’t be betting, and she is portrayed as a devout channel for His word. I couldn’t tell whether or not her religious scenes were an exaggerated joke, which makes me question my interpretation of everything in the film. So I feel I haven’t learned anything about Nigerian culture.
I have, however, made one conclusion about Nollywood movies, based on this film and a non-soccer film I watched a few years ago. A lot happens in a Nollywood movies, but it’s hard to figure out what is going on.
6 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 6
Resources:
- Released: 2021-04-02 (Nigeria)
- The movie poster spells the title as Prophe+ess
- In Yoruba, Igdo, and English with English sub-titles
- 2 hrs 23 mins
- I watched this on Netflix, but Amazon has signed an exclusive contract with Anthill Studios for the next few years.
- IMDB
- WIKI
- Director: Niki Akinmolayan
- Stars: Toyin Abraham (prophetess Ayoke), Kunle Remi (Dipo)
- Watch the Trailer
