Hey folks! You’re welcome to the review of the much-anticipated Man Down, a top-notch gospel movie from Parables Film Productions, Nigeria. It was actually produced in 2021, but premiered on YouTube on July 10, 2022.
You know, there’s been a lot of hype about this movie and I’m quite sure that by now, you know it’s lived up to its billing. Its extensive publicity gave me a great feeling of excitement, and as I hit the play button, an expansive instrumental serenaded me through the gold-themed opening credits. With the opening scene cascading different emotions, I knew I was in for a joyride. I particularly love feature films and I don’t take it for granted that I can watch a nearly two-hour movie that has little or no hassles. That’s what Man Down did for me.
The beauty of this movie’s themes is that they are many. The title points to its powerful depiction of how Christians need to restore wounded soldiers on the battlefield of life through love. I saw the Scriptural ‘There is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus…’ vividly. Granted, Bola and Chidi, both children of God, make a mistake, but they acknowledge their sin against God and are willing to take a break, not to feel sorry for themselves, but to seek God’s face and mercy.
The only direction in Man Down was forwards: the reactions of Fejiro, played beautifully by Aanu Kolade, Pastor Aladese, and Julius in P.Dan Olawande’s cameo free Bola and Chidi, not to wallow in self-pity and guilt, but to receive the loving embrace of our heavenly Father who so graciously forgives our sins. What He wants is for us to change direction: turn away from our sins and turn to Him. This is so much better than the public humiliation the Pastor Mrs administers to Bola, basically ostracizing her. Speaking of the church, we see some human traditions or policies that are maybe doing more harm than good to the Body of Christ.
Asides that, Man Down touches on parenting styles that need to be adapted as a child reaches different stages of growth. The movie also doesn’t hesitate to address a tribalistic scenario by mirroring its existence in the Nigerian society.
Man Down flexes its musical muscles with a couple of original soundtracks and a variety of appropriate background tunes. Something I think the movie excels in is that aided by good music, it hits all its emotional highs and lows. Hence, you really feel this movie and invest your emotions in it. It further gives us a multi-purpose set piece at the end that provides a good example of the kind of music, level of production, and the way to shoot a prerecorded theme song. The lyrics of that song encapsulate the overarching message of the film. It was also a cheerful montage that showed us the life of the characters after a passage of time. That made it a perfect final curtain and I’ve had that part on repeat since its release.
Another thing that stands out in Man Down is the subtitles, which are on a higher plane to the usual, though some parts of it are better suited for a screenplay. The script was also well written as each character was given a unique voice. Every actor put in a good shift to make the movie credible; it’s a very big thumbs up to them all. The flashback scenes were artistically edited, especially the one that had an orange colour motif; I wish I knew how that was achieved.
Summarily, it’s a beauty to behold how forgiveness flows in all the relationships in Man Down. Truly, we’re blessed because in Christ Jesus, we get a fresh start; our slates are wiped clean. When we hold nothing back from Him, He holds nothing against us (Psalm 32:1-2).
So, Man Down! What did you think about the acting, the music and the way we handle anyone who falls into sin in the Body of Christ? Please let me know in the comments section below.
The links to the movie are https://youtu.be/VewT4QrhWIU and https://youtu.be/z6kaY7yGWFg
You can watch the video of this review below:
Till the next article, stay blessed!
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