My favourite episode was Enmity Djinn, because the ethereal elements with the shadowy figure who seems invisible to those around the cast in the Mauritanian landscape with elements of mystique of the malevolent spirit was captivating. However, if the other episodes was including a lot more oomph, in terms of having different tribal groups to do an intense rituals like the Maori tribe before a battle could of added more intensity and intrigue to the viewers, as savage it may sound. What you have is few episodes with little bit of drama and actions, and usual traditional rituals and lots of scenes of individuals in humdrum scenes, it feels like being by myself in a quiet corner having a pint. But the first episode was kind of impressive.
4 Reviews
Such a unique and refreshing watch
chenailouise23 May 2023
Brilliant cinematography. Storylines cultural, alternative, refreshing and engaging. Nuanced and layered. Mysterious, meditative, calls for us to question connection to self, people, the world and spirit. Themes explored - connection to self, self belief, intuition, good and evil extremes of humanity, emotions, family, purpose and nature. Presence is required. Split over 6 episodes, each episode a different theme on the African continent, emotive actors superbly embody the essence of their character, we feel as if we are meeting them in real life, phenomenally cast, actors excellent. This is a very important and groundbreaking piece of Art and should be celebrated. I felt the same about Love Death and Robots.
not at all what I imagined
nyanbatcat16 April 2023
From the title I expected classic folklore. This was very exciting to me, as I know very little African tales. I guess it is partly up to my misplaced expectations that I did not enjoy the series, but my expectations do not influence my rating. Because even without considering them, this fell short in various ways.
Each episode is half an hour long, plays in a different part of Africa and is from a different director. These tales will be quite different in genre, era, etc. There are stories that take place in the past and stories that take place in the future. So in some regard, this is a bit like love, death and robots. It even shares some of the mistakes. This is where my personal disappointment stems from. The reimaginations are all over the place, but seem to lack motivation, grit, they never managed to really draw me in.
There are better and worse episodes, but they sadly never reach great heights. The different styles and qualities of the episodes make it difficult to give an impression of the whole season. Several of them felt like they didn't know where they want to go/end up at or are uninspired, there is surprisingly little mysticism considering these are folktales.
Each episode is half an hour long, plays in a different part of Africa and is from a different director. These tales will be quite different in genre, era, etc. There are stories that take place in the past and stories that take place in the future. So in some regard, this is a bit like love, death and robots. It even shares some of the mistakes. This is where my personal disappointment stems from. The reimaginations are all over the place, but seem to lack motivation, grit, they never managed to really draw me in.
There are better and worse episodes, but they sadly never reach great heights. The different styles and qualities of the episodes make it difficult to give an impression of the whole season. Several of them felt like they didn't know where they want to go/end up at or are uninspired, there is surprisingly little mysticism considering these are folktales.
GREAT LEAP INTO SCI-FI SCENE! Definetly has room for improvement
mukezi-278763 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I absolutely loved the new exploration of a new genre on the African tv series scene. Sci-fi is normally not a genre that African producers/directors consider branching into unless it's centered around supernatural magical powers.
However, there's a few things that I wish could have been better.
The first episode was confusing, because I didn't quite catch the sci-fi elements in it. As the first episode i wish it gave us a dive into an advanced tech world in Africa. Scenes giving us a glimpse of what that would be like in different aspects of life and so on.
The second one was really well scripted. I wish the VR pods they stuck on the sides of their head were a little bit smaller though 😅 the episode did lack emotion i would say. We couldn't go on a journey with the characters and be compelled to understand their experiences. There could've been more depth and substance to the story there. The stories weren't developed richly but i digress. I am grateful for the show being out there regardless.
As a heavy sci-fi fan, its wonderful to have Africans showing up. Representation! I really wish there was more backstory to it and more episodes. Especially about the AI episode, why were they taken in a negative light? What purpose does it serve in the African world? I really like the way it starts with the Abuja scene which would've built up to a more Rich backstory. The big cities in Africa are moving into more and more AI usage and technological advancements while the villages try to stay true to their roots, but its seeping its way and many people from the villages secretly use virtual reality to escape their reality. The people in the cities also use VR to escape their fast tracked life, and that's why the guy was sent into the village to gather more information to make the VR world in the city, more realistic for the people who need an escape. An all encompassing immersive experience for the viewers.
I really really feel like the sci-fi part of it was really suppressed. It was new territory i get it, but it was approached with fear.
I really wish we could dive deep into the sci-fi world. I found the scene about the widowed grey area and happily married blue zone particularly interesting. I really wish that was even taken up a notch further. There could've been more emphasis into the differences in terms of the privileges you get in the blue zone versus grey zone. I wish we could balance it out. I didn't the whole notion that the whole grey zone was not developed, like at all. I feel like the grey people would've also taken time to better their environments so it's just like with most things, a stigma in the psyche but in reality it's about ones perspective. The grey people probably wouldve been painted with mor character as they don't have a status quo to keep up with and more about ones perspective. Little backstories and introductions would've helped. In the beginning, it was all just like widows on the street, i didn't know what was going on there actually 😂 I thought it was a horror movie.
I mean all I'm trying to say is I love what was done. It was great for a start. I know it's experimental and I love how it touched on so many different parts of Africa, that was my favorite part. I heard Hausa, Swahili etc and I loved it.
I'm definitely hoping directors/producers, Nollywood, the whole lot of African production team, really invest more and dive deeper into exploring this as a genre. Good work!
However, there's a few things that I wish could have been better.
The first episode was confusing, because I didn't quite catch the sci-fi elements in it. As the first episode i wish it gave us a dive into an advanced tech world in Africa. Scenes giving us a glimpse of what that would be like in different aspects of life and so on.
The second one was really well scripted. I wish the VR pods they stuck on the sides of their head were a little bit smaller though 😅 the episode did lack emotion i would say. We couldn't go on a journey with the characters and be compelled to understand their experiences. There could've been more depth and substance to the story there. The stories weren't developed richly but i digress. I am grateful for the show being out there regardless.
As a heavy sci-fi fan, its wonderful to have Africans showing up. Representation! I really wish there was more backstory to it and more episodes. Especially about the AI episode, why were they taken in a negative light? What purpose does it serve in the African world? I really like the way it starts with the Abuja scene which would've built up to a more Rich backstory. The big cities in Africa are moving into more and more AI usage and technological advancements while the villages try to stay true to their roots, but its seeping its way and many people from the villages secretly use virtual reality to escape their reality. The people in the cities also use VR to escape their fast tracked life, and that's why the guy was sent into the village to gather more information to make the VR world in the city, more realistic for the people who need an escape. An all encompassing immersive experience for the viewers.
I really really feel like the sci-fi part of it was really suppressed. It was new territory i get it, but it was approached with fear.
I really wish we could dive deep into the sci-fi world. I found the scene about the widowed grey area and happily married blue zone particularly interesting. I really wish that was even taken up a notch further. There could've been more emphasis into the differences in terms of the privileges you get in the blue zone versus grey zone. I wish we could balance it out. I didn't the whole notion that the whole grey zone was not developed, like at all. I feel like the grey people would've also taken time to better their environments so it's just like with most things, a stigma in the psyche but in reality it's about ones perspective. The grey people probably wouldve been painted with mor character as they don't have a status quo to keep up with and more about ones perspective. Little backstories and introductions would've helped. In the beginning, it was all just like widows on the street, i didn't know what was going on there actually 😂 I thought it was a horror movie.
I mean all I'm trying to say is I love what was done. It was great for a start. I know it's experimental and I love how it touched on so many different parts of Africa, that was my favorite part. I heard Hausa, Swahili etc and I loved it.
I'm definitely hoping directors/producers, Nollywood, the whole lot of African production team, really invest more and dive deeper into exploring this as a genre. Good work!
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