Mokalik (Mechanic) (2019) – Movie Review | Nollywood
… I was thinking: I’ll hate this movie.
It’ll be pure liberal propaganda, riding on
some capitalist c__k…
What’s up!
I’m Marlon, and this is Ulven Reviews: movies
and series from all over the world.
Today let’s talk about the 2019 Nigeria Comedy
Drama Mokalik, starring Tooni Afolayan and
Simi Ogunleye and directed by Kunle Afolayan.
You can navigate the video through the Chapters.
Ponmile (played by Tooni Afolayan) is a middle-class
boy having some problems at school.
As a punishment, his father, Mr. Ogidan (played
by Femi Adebayo), takes him to spend a day
as an apprentice in a mechanic workshop.
In this workshop, the boy learns with tutors
and gets infatuated with the owner of a local
cantina, Simi (played by Simi Ogunleye).
This movie is currently available on Netflix.
Tomorrow, we never know.
So, I’ll leave the link for the Just Watch
Website in the description box.
You can change the country to see where it
might be available in your location.
Mokalik is a straightforward film about this
boy figuring himself out.
There’s nothing convoluted.
Ponmile learns about life, the workshop routine,
and the technical aspect of work.
Since he stays at different workstations at
a time, he’s able to absorb a little from
each
them some things as well.
The pauses for meals are also fundamental
for us to know more about the characters and
dynamic of the shop.
In addition, during these gatherings, we can
see some compelling dialogues, like the one
about Africa being champions of the FIFA World
Cup in 2018.
Unfortunately, in its simplicity, I felt the
movie lacked some conflict.
We have some minor issues to be resolved in
the workshop, and even a little mystery to
be solved until the end of the day, but nothing
that actually affects our protagonist.
That made the pace of the film a little slow
and monotone.
I think having more at stake or some urgency
could have benefited the plot.
From my point of view, the movie makes a commentary
on labor and considering the opening song,
the perspective offered by the film quite
surprised me.
More about the song later.
During a conversation between Ponmile and
Simi, they talk about the function of work
as a vocation, not something merely for money
or social status.
Since Ponmile has better material conditions
than most workers in the mechanic workshop,
he’s not expected to like the work there.
He’s expected to choose a high-paying job
of intellectual complexity that requires a
formal university degree.
The simple fact of him being there astonishes
a woman who knew him and his family.
It’s almost as if his fate was already being
decided for him, at 11 years old.
The inverse position is also true.
Like in the Brazilian movie M-8 (you can check
the review in the Cards), a young black man
from the hood is not expected to be graduating
in medicine.
His presence there is always looked at as
out of boundaries.
However, racial relations in Nigeria are different
from racial relations in Brazil.
In Brazil, race, and class are intimately
related, and that’s why I can make this comparison.
Maybe we can talk more in-depth about it in
the future.
All the characters are very well-made.
Each one has a very personal identity.
Regardless of the importance of the role,
none of them is a generic throw-away character,
and they all have something to offer.
The protagonist, Ponmile, is a charismatic,
interested, and intelligent boy, challenging
his father’s reasons for bringing him there.
Simi also defies expectations.
Portrayed by a real-life singer, the character
dreams of becoming one.
She’s not only the beautiful girl who leaves
the men around enamored, she’s kind-hearted
and a relevant influence on Ponmile’s journey.
The performances are really on-point, and
no one left anything to be desired.
The highlights for me are Tooni Afolayan (Ponmile)
and Simi Ogunleye again, the first one for
his youth and the second because it’s her
debut role.
The appearance of the movie is one of the
most uninteresting things.
It’s one of the few aspects that I didn’t
like all that much.
The settings are really well-made, a vast
place overwhelmed by cars and mechanical pieces.
And although I can acknowledge how it makes
sense, the visuals are still the thing I felt
lacking.
So it’s time we talk about the score, as I
promised before.
I believe the opening song, by Kent Edunjobi,
was composed for the film, it’s in Yoruba
as most of the movie, but it was subtitled,
and parts of the lyrics didn’t please me.
While the song was playing in the opening
credits and I was reading the lyrics I was
thinking: I’ll hate this movie.
It’ll be pure liberal propaganda, riding on
some capitalist c__k.
If my analysis of this first watch is correct,
I was wrong in my judgment based on the opening
song.
And I’m glad, f__k liberalism.
Despite the lyrics, the feel of the movie
is really coherent with the overall mood of
the movie.
It’s a perfect match.
Mokalik is a glad surprise.
It was able to entertain while delivering
a relevant universal message, and it’s full
of great characters.
There are a few flaws, like the lack of conflict,
and because of that, I can completely understand
people who value the movie less than I. I’ll
give Mokalik 8 Moons!
That’s it for now.
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and enemies.
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Thanks for watching see you in the next video.
