Hello everyone,

Today on the blog, I am sharing my thoughts on Lionheart. A lot of reviews have focused on the gender dynamics and culture. However, I am sharing my thoughts on the movie as it relates to Nigeria.

Read the review below and leave a comment!!!

Lionheart is the first Nigerian Netflix original film and it marks Genevieve Nnaji’s directorial debut.

Lionheart is a simple story that conjures up memories of old Nollywood stories rooted in family relationships and conflict. In a time when Nollywood is reinventing itself, Nnaji makes a case for old Nollywood. With a cast that includes Nollywood’s finest such as Pete Edochie and Nkem Owoh, Nnaji reminds us that while Nollywood needs to be reinvented, it can be done with those who championed the Nollywood industry as we know it. It is easy to look at Lionheart as a movie solely about the restoration of Chief Obiagu’s business. However, that would be a disservice to the deeper issues addressed in the movie.

Lionheart is a metaphor of the historically acrimonious relationship between the Hausas and the Igbos of Nigeria. Igwe Pascal or another kinsman could have helped the Obiagu family. However, the choice of the Maikano family as the savior is intentional and should be praised. When Alhaji Maikano asks Adaeze Obiagu for a better reason for him to accept the merger between their companies than her “rehearsed pitch”, she reminds him of their shared familial values.

In one of the most powerful scene in the movie, Chief Obiagu and Alhaji Maikano’s stare down is interrupted when Chief Obiagu begins to speak Hausa and admits that he grew up in Zaria. Genevieve seems to remind us that our similarities are greater than our differences.

You can watch Lionheart on Netflix.