SEVEN DOORS, a love letter to Nigerian Culture- Femi Adebayo

By Oladeji Olabisi
7 Min Read

“With great power comes great responsibility,” a phrase that perfectly describes the life of King Adedunjoye. I just finished watching Seven doors and in case you want to know of it was worth the watch, them enjoy till the end.

Have you ever made a terrible mistake? I am talking about a mistake that cost you to loose so much? Yeahhh, that feeling, that was the perfect definition of the way Queen Amaka felt after coercing her husband to become the king of His village. Their love quickly took the Romeo and Juliet path, I mean the sad path.

When I saw the title and watched the trailer, I was curious. As a keen viewer of movies produced by Femi Adebayo, i could not help but appreciate his storytelling. His consistent ability to create masterpiece that captures the attention of many.

I braced myself for a time to be lost in culture but I did not prepare myself enough.  The display of culture was abundant and I drank it all in. Yet the fusion of different cultures blew my mind. I was amazed at the attention to details. Every part of the movie seem so detailed and well though of.

Don’t get me started of the acting. Every cast showed so much skill making me forget I was watching a series. Each character was conveniently brought to life by the cast. Did I tell you about the variety of actors in the series. It was heartwarming to see faces that we once watched and were in awe of their skill, that never dulling.  Every emotion was carefully depicted, their body language and explaining each scene without words. As a viewer, you could feel the sadness, tears and happiness.

Now to the storyline itself.

What perfect blend of romance!
The story centers around the village called Ilara. Illara lacked leadership and the elders sought to get for themselves a leader. They consulted their gods and a family was chosen to bring forth king.

Meanwhile a happy loving family existed in the city. The love and care in that family was palpable. They played games, danced and even in those kind of moments thought themselves lesson.

Somehow the leader the community needed was the Man from the happy family.

Let me ask you a question, imagine you are a middle class guy with a very happy and contented family. When I mean happy, your family is the perfect definition of peace to you. You love spending time with your family showering them with love and support. You are a present father and a dotting husband. Your family respect you and you simply live life. Then you woke up one morning and they told you, you are the next king of your town. Please I need your honest answer, would you chose to be the King?

Exactly! The reaction of Mr. Adedunjoye was to give his family head a negative answer.(I am assuming your answer is no)

Remember the mistake I talked about earlier, if Mrs Amaka knew she would have kept quiet and let her husband decline the community’s offer. When they say women wield  power? I mean what explanation would we give when a man who vehemently refused the offer suddenly became agreeable.

The King went through tests and came out victorious. Mr Adedunjoye was crowned King and that felt like the beginning of hullabaloo in the village of Ilara.

Did I tell you about the Chiefs?
Somehow the chief reminds me that corruption did not start in this generation. They make me see classic examples of how people exploited one another years ago.

As a leader in a place where those who are meant to advise you lose their dignity over money. It becomes a hard and tasking job to lead effectively yet the King of Ilara acted justly.

Till it all came down, and the village lost it’s peace. It became the villagers default to blame the King. A question was raised, ” Was the King really to blame”. Was it the newly installed king fault that his daughter died? Can we blame him for the death of tens of villagers also. Could he truly be responsible for the death of his son also leaving him childless? How is the title of the movie depicted in the movie?

To answer that question you may need to check the movie out.

Lessons were embedded in this movie so much so that it require you think for some minutes to really digest the movie.

The sacrifices required from a leader can be overwhelming at times.
There is so much to lose for a leader who would effect change.
At times, it is best you are not prepared for what is to come.
Knowing it all would scare you to hide, minimizing your potential.
It is a blessing to love and be loved. “Because of lover God created the Lover”.  You actually cannot cheat nature.
Love conquers all.
Instructions would be obeyed if you want to break cycles.

Do something for me, check this movie out and signify where each of this lessons was learnt. You can also add your lessons too.

So to the inquisitive mind, yeah that one that always likes to find out. To the one who enjoys culture or wants to feel connected to Yoruba heritage. To the one who just need another movie recommendation. I bring to you SEVEN DOORS. Check it out, you would not regret it.

Edited by: Oladeji Olabisi

Share This Article
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *