Many men will do anything to avoid going to the doctor. This film may impel some of them to schedule an appointment, lol! Nigerian immigrants to New York struggle to apply traditional beliefs to a new lifestyle. Some are better at this than others. They discover their hearts to be entwined and hopelessly confused with what they imagined modern and traditional ways to be. Adenike tries to find the path to love with her seemingly traditional husband (or is it really his mother driving him?) Characters and circumstances flit around them like phantoms, good and bad, pulling them in different directions. A mother-in-law presses relentlessly for a grandson, friends encourage Adenike to be more independent even as her husband seeks the opposite, and Adenike's heart tells her many things she cannot long resist, among other burdens. Those at Adenike's wedding who promise that her life will be "sweet as a pineapple" are not there, of course, when life gets tough. Little lovely details, absent in other films, enliven your senses; the bright colors, an open window with street noises drifting through, silence seamlessly switching to music and then gentle voices in a room, contrasting shades of light, the sound of skin on skin, dazzling patterns and shades in clothing, or the outline of an exquisite face. Present here is the beautiful cinematography and sound control characteristic of Kar Wai Wong. The film is worth watching just for this alone.
Review of Mother of George
