Child not bride re-tells the age old saga of the marital union of a girl barely in her teens and a man just one inch closer to six feet under. The movie takes its time in a straightforward approach, opening up with a scene that gives us a glimpse of the family’s financial situation and their gratitude towards an alhaji, who is showing them financial kindness for reasons unknown to them. Eventually, after a climatic bedroom scene where he almost molests our protagonist, Dami, he reveals that he is caring for the family because he wants to make Dami, who has just finished her Junior WAEC, his wife. Despite the initial angst at the idea, we see a shift in the parents’ mentality as they consider the financial benefits from marrying off their daughter to a man old enough to be her grandfather.
The movie descends into melancholy as we see Dami’s dreams of being a medical doctor shatter, and the movie shows us the dire consequences of this outdated relationship.
Touching on illiteracy, poverty and lack of information, the movie manages to show us how these themes interconnect and contribute to the child marriage. The movie also debunks certain myths, such as the, ‘our parents did it before us’ myth. It truly opens your eyes to the very real reality of this practice that should be long gone. See movie trailer below:
Child not bride is a movie for the young and old; it has the ability to open the eyes of the people from the past and the people who will lead the future. Child marriage is still very poignant in our society, and Child not bride attempts to shed light on the possibilities. Although it starts out a bit slow to the average movie watcher, it has enough twists to keep you interested. The acting is quite superb; Liz Benson is at it again and the actress who plays the child is a force to be reckoned with. Overall a good attempt, although it would have been nice to see a little bit of character development in order for audience members to sympathise with other characters besides the main one; in order for change to occur, we must understand all parties’ mentalities.
Go check it out and let me know what you think!