I am very partial to anything written by Tunde Babalola and directed by Kunle Afolayan. They've cemented their place with their past successes and continuous excellence as they redefine what it means to create a Nollywood film.
Citation became an awaited film, after I saw Temi Otedola's face in the poster. Prior to this, she'd been teasing her fans on Twitter with some mysterious photos taken at the Obafemi Awolowu university(OAU) campus. I kept wondering what she was doing there, but now we know.
Moremi, acted by Temi Otedola, borrows from her real life beauty, softness and air of innocence as she plays the role of a very young, multilingual(speaks French, Yoruba and English) Masters student at OAU. She is the best student in the class and grabs the attention of Prof Lucien N'Dyare, acted by Jimmy Jean-Louis who is a charismatic lecturer, originally from Senegal, with an impressive academic career and experience in lecturing in many foreign universities. He is equally bilingual, an attractive trait in the early scenes of this film when his manipulative streak is not yet unearthed.
Prof N'Dyare and Moremi take the first step into what ends up in a panel being set up to investigate his attempt to rape her( at the end of an Easter party in his home, after the man pretends to not know how to drive 'stick') . He lies that he only knows how to drive automatic cars. Brilliant Moremi, who'd heard him cussing out in French luckily offers to drive him in the university car he'd been given, as well as gives him driving lessons.
And that is where I believe the lines were crossed and the appropriateness of this student - teacher relationship had gone too far. For Moremi however, this realization came rather too late as it only dawned on her when she sat in his office discussing the chapters she'd written for her dissertation. His inappropriate comments about the sexual position he imagined she'd like and the color of his favorite panties were still things she kindly brushed off, which I get. When men charm you like that and impress upon you intellectually, it can be difficult to ascribe evil intent because you'd expect the academic mind to be vigorous enough to be able to differentiate between both intents. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
She further excused this bad behaviour to her boyfriend, acted by the younger Afolayan(Gabriel Afolayan)as her overreacting, and against his wishes travelled to Senegal with some other students, with Prof Lucien as their guide and instructor. Moremi discovers by accident that he does not of course drive 'stick' like he claimed and soon after, things begin to get really sour.
The progression of Prof Lucien from admirer of the mind of his youngest and brightest student to a man who would later tell her he would break her and cause her to not graduate on time is difficult to accept. 'Sex for grades' quickly becomes the theme of the panel as they work in an unbiased and efficient manner to ensure that the truth is found. Is Moremi lying against the Professor because she is simply not good enough and thinks that by ruining him, she could punish him for making her fail? Is the Professor truly the familiar tyrant we hear about in most Nigerian universities where the power dynamics are skewed with male lecturers faithfully soliciting for sex in staff quarters? They probe and probe until they find the truth.
Citation has many new firsts. The switch between the languages really was intriguing and made me want to learn French. The wig worn by Professor N'Dyare was a monstrosity and like most people, I wondered what the aim was. I loved the simplicity and acting of this cast with the exception of a few people. My absolute favorite was the girl whose signature closing remarks during the panel were that she believed Jesus would intervene.
I think that Moremi's reaction during the panel came rather too late. The panel had said that they found Prof N'Dyare guilty but she only leapt up when they proceeded to say what they thought him guilty of. I would have expected the leaping at the first pronunciation of guilt.
I wouldn't say Tunde Afolayan has exceeded himself with this one, but what I know is I'm extremely glad the man exists because he's truly a creative genius and I look forward to seeing more of his films.