The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2019: Confusion Na Wa (2013), directed by Kenneth Gyang

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "Dirty Money", by Antibalas

       Although there have been plenty of films relating to Africa, referencing Africa, it seems like only recently that I’ve started seeing an influx of films from Africa, made by Africans. ‘Nollywood’ I think it’s labeled on netflix, although if that’s in reference to Hollywood or Bollywood I’m not sure (depends on the amount of musical numbers I guess). I don’t know why they seemed to have suddenly appeared, perhaps a subtle sign to an almost inevitable proxy war between the U.S. and China over political and economic influence in Africa, or maybe someone just got a good deal on some streaming rights. Either way the films are here, and as it was with The Precinct and Azerbaijan, I’m interested in seeing how the people of Africa approach the medium of film. So I picked one to cover for the Marathon and watched it, and now you’re reading the ‘review’ I wrote for it. Crazy how these kinds of things happen huh?

       Released in 2012 by Cinema Kpatakpata and winner of numerous film awards, including Best Film by both the Africa Movie Academy Awards and the Best of Nollywood Awards, Confusion Na Wa is Kenneth Gyang’s sophomore film, following Blood and Henna the year before. Set in an unnamed city in Nigeria, Confusion presents us with a large cast of characters, each with their own set of problems: Emeka the well-off philanderer, Bello the timid office worker, Kola, the son of an overbearing and conservative newspaper owner, and so on and on. All seemingly unrelated, yet when Emeka’s phone, full of salacious texts from his mistress, is stolen by an easy-going thief named Charles, they find themselves being drawn together, and a web forged of connections slowly reveals itself. Which wouldn’t be too bad except someone is definitely getting a bullet in the head, and I think everyone agrees that’s not a good time.

       That end bit makes it sound like some kind of thriller, but Confusion Na Wa is actually a comedy, mainly in the existential sense, although there are a couple of good gags near the end. The ‘confusion’ that the title refers to is of people confronting the fact that ‘things just happen’. ‘Bad things happen to good people’ is the staple of gallows humor, and yet in Confusion Na Wa even the answer to what is ‘good’ has been lost in the shuffle of a seemingly chaotic world, where people and events are constantly and continuously shaped by factors that we have little to no control over. It’s a direction that might be overplayed, especially these days, but Gyang pulls off the ever-increasing coincidences well. 

       Similar to a film like Midnight Cowboy or The Bicycle Thieves, Confusion Na Wa is a film as well as a living time capsule of its setting. I’ve never been to Nigeria myself and I doubt I’ll ever have the chance to go, but when I watch this film, I feel as if I’ve caught a glimpse of its essence. What separation, if any, Gyang tries to put up between the film and the real world is struck down by the sheer noise of life that permeates throughout, the near constant sounds of bustling traffic for example. I feel as if I could close my eyes and feel the hot sun on my face and smell the aromas of car exhaust and nearby street vendors. I don’t know how much of it was intentional and how much was just the reality of filmmaking in Nigeria, but it’s very naturalistic feel that helps bring the audience into the correct state of mind. Which might sound like I’m blowing smoke up Kenneth Gyang’s ass, but coming from a place with a little wear and tear itself it’s nice to see a city that feels lived in, in a manner of speaking.

        That’s also why I’m giving Confusion Na Wa a pass on things like their minor characters being a bit wooden, a builder uses the tools he has on hand. However one thing that threw me through a loop was the use of music stings. Not the songs, which were damn good, but these little musical cues that pop up at multiple points in the film. One example comes to mind during a scene where Emeka gets a call from his wife when he’s with his mistress. During the conversation, suddenly this keening, dramatic bit of piano swells up out of nowhere, as if he were cradling her dying body rather than weaseling out of a conversation, and then just as soon leaves. It comes completely out of left field and feels so overwrought compared to the energy of what’s actually taking place on screen that the disconnect is palpable. This happens several times over the course of the film, with different music even, and every time it makes a scene that would be perfectly fine and properly dramatic with music at all into a farce. This being a comedy and the first of Kenneth Gyang’s films that I’ve seen I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was intentional, because otherwise it’s a bizarrely nonsensical choice. The kind of undercutting yourself you’d see in Garth Mahrengi’s Darkplace. 

       Although Confusion Na Wa is rough around the edges, it shows that Nigeria is easily operating artistically on the same level as the rest of the world, so it gets the recommendation. Now all they need to do is crank out some trashy budget genre films, and they’ll have a place on the Marathon for a long time to come.