A dreamlike journey through Nigerian childhood

The film echoing some of director Akinola Davies Jr and his brother’s real childhood experiences

The magnificent new Nigerian film My Father’s Shadow opens with two brothers missing their father.

They rarely see him as he had to move to the city of Lagos to find work.

Unexpectedly, he appears and takes them for a dreamlike and often surreal day in the city.

We see the world from the often uncomprehending viewpoint of the boys Remi and Akin—played by Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Chiemerie Egbo respectively. They love or hate the street food they eat. They lust after ice cream and Fanta.

They travel in a massively overcrowded minibus where they are passed around to sit on strangers’ laps. The boys and their dad crowd precariously onto a motorbike taxi alongside its owner.

One of the film’s strengths is that it never presents a European touristy view of the city.

The father Folarin—played by British-Nigerian actor Sope Dirisu—tries to keep the boys entertained while searching for his factory’s manager to demand wages he has been owed for months.

But there is more going on than just work. Folarin comes across various unexplained people and holds whispered conversations.

Some appear to be political allies, one probably a lover. Against this tension, the brothers’ endless bickering and familial affection provide a heartwarming humour.

It is set in 1993, during an election that could remove a military government. Bustling Lagos is electric with change.

The boys are largely oblivious as they briefly have the run of a closed fairground.

They visit a beach and pass the rusting hulk of a tanker. As Folarin teaches them to swim in the shallows, the horizon is crowded with oil ships.

But the military threat looms as soldiers pass loaded in open trucks with blank, threatening stares for everyone.

British-Nigerian artist Akinola Davies Jr directed this wonderful and moving film and wrote the script with his brother, echoing some of their real childhood experiences.