Loss, Faith, and Unexpected Bonds: ‘Breath of Life’ Review
The loss of a family often redirects how an individual conducts themselves and the subsistence they so desire. This became the reality for Timi Johnson (Wale Ojo), a gifted clergyman who lost his family to a horrific tragedy. Overwhelmed by grief and anger, he isolates himself in the memories of his family. He feels that, along with the passing of his family, his faith and will to live died with them. Years later, he’ll realize his true purpose of living when an aspiring priest, Elijah (Chimezie Imo), walks into his life.
Breath of Life (2023) is one of the three features of the slate deal between Amazon Prime Video and Nollywood’s Nemsia Films. The drama film, written and directed by Bodunrin Sasore, explores life and destiny, the struggles of coming to terms with being abandoned by something one formerly relied on, and the difficulties of trusting once again. The film had a strange tone and various moments of bizarre dialogue, sprinkled with small bits of comedy that penetrate through the film’s overarching somber mood. The film seems to be in the works rather than a completed story, which wasn’t helped by the drag of the film’s pacing, making it a struggle to continue.
Timi Johnson is an outstanding multilingual young man, fluent in sixteen languages, and became one of the youngest clergymen to be ordained in the Church of England. Timi returns to Nigeria after marrying Bridget (Eku Edewor) and welcoming a daughter. In Nigeria, he focuses on fixing up the local church until a gang passing through disrupts his eight years of happiness. Believing his purpose is to get the gang locked up, Timi testifies against the gang, who become furious at him for going against them. In retaliation, the gang violently captures Timi and his family. The gang forces Timi to watch as his daughter and wife tremble in fear as members of the gang douse the car they’re in with gasoline.
Witnessing the gruesome death of his family shattered his perspective on faith and God. God had abandoned him and his family in their time of need, and so now he was alone, bound by guilt. Losing his only source of happiness, Timi confronts the gang’s leader, Baby Fire (Chiedozie Nzeribe Sambasa), and takes revenge with a gun. After that, Timi makes several unsuccessful attempts to end his life. The next thirty-five years are quiet until Timi needs a new houseboy and hires Elijah, a young man whose dream is to start a church.
The narrative of the film presents an interesting premise— the contrast between Timi and Elijah’s beliefs on religion and faith. There is a slight tension between the two men, as their differences in beliefs are staggering. It leads to Elijah hiding that part of himself while he’s in Timi’s vicinity. To Timi, Elijah is the personification of his younger self before the tragedy that stole away his family. Elijah unknowingly becomes a reminder of better times, and perhaps that was the reason Timi hired him. Although Timi presents a tough demeanor, he does appear to have a soft spot for Elijah. Though Timi doesn’t allow religion to be spoken about in his home but does accommodate for Elijah to continue to host Bible study.
The pacing between the first and second half of the film needs more definition. The first half is packed with piles of information about the characters, while the second half is very slow, and not much happens. It is also filled with a lot of unnecessary narration that overshadows the performances of the actors and actresses. Narration is used to inject an omniscient voice into the story and point out from what perspective the story is told. The narration becomes too overbearing as it reiterates scenes that the audience is viewing. One scene that showcases this is when Elijah is flustered because of Anna (Genoveva Umeh), and the narrator then informs the audience he is embarrassed. Rather than allowing the audience to watch the film, the narration tells the story, taking away from what is shown.
The film carries this somber tone but oddly tries to inject bits of comedy into the mix. The brief moments of comedy come out as stale, unfunny, and out of place. There is a scene where Elijah had to remake eggs for Timi because they were not to his satisfaction. Timi throws fifteen plates of eggs at the wall. This scene does no favors for Timi’s characterization as a grief-stricken man and portrays him more as unreasonable and callous. While this characterization might be intentional, it does strip away from the film’s intended message. The scene leaves a bitter taste in the audience, as it seems Timi is controlling and prone to violence. As the film focuses on the relationship between the two men, the progression of the relationship doesn’t feel believable, and scenes that should be heartfelt feel disingenuous.
There are moments where the dialogue is strange and feels unnatural. As Elijah walks Anna home, their conversation leads to Timi. Elijah reveals that Timi sometimes cries when he misses his family. Anna then says, “Aww. I think that’s beautiful.” Is a man stricken with grief beautiful? Or is it the act of crying that is beautiful? It just feels out of place and not really thought out. Despite this moment not having any significance to the overarching story, it does bring a problem to light: the details are not thought out. The main points of the film were crafted mindfully, but the smaller details still needed more refinement. At times, the dialogue feels as if it were only included to push the narrative forward rather than leave it to progress naturally.
One of the definite highlights of the film is the foreshadowing. There are several moments that, at first glance, appear to be irrelevant before they come full circle. It was a nice touch to go back to those moments that didn’t feel important. These scenes were done well and left the audience satisfied with their reveal. The well-done foreshadowing reveals the amount of potential the film would have if Bodunrin Sasore had taken more time refining the details.
In conclusion, Breath of Life navigates the profound impact of loss on an individual’s life, illustrating Timi Johnson’s journey from grief and isolation to rediscovering his purpose. However, the film grapples with uneven pacing, awkward dialogue, and a conflicting blend of somber moments and misplaced comedy. Despite these shortcomings, the narrative’s intriguing premise and well-executed foreshadowing hint at untapped potential. With more attention to detail, the film could have had a more authentic and impactful portrayal of its characters and evolving relationships.
