tw Movie Ticket: A Hotel called Memory
Running Time: 54mins.
Directed by Akin Omotoso
Produced by Ego Boyo
Starring Nse Ikpe-Etim as Lola, Akin Omotoso as Wale, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Eyiyemi Pratt
I applaud the cinematic brilliance of what A Hotel Called Memory depicts, even without voice.
This movie took about 24 production months, across 3 African cities – Lagos, Cape Town and Zanzibar. It is centred on a couple, who are going through rough patches in their marriage. It will appear as your average romance drama, only this is a silent movie.
This movie is intentionally highly visual and lures you to participate in the events. The cast and crew defied many odds and myths about movie-making in general – from shooting a voiceless movie with only natural light, to leaving the artistic impression to the viewer’s complete imagination. In other words, make what you will of the movie, in terms of interpreting the story and its effect on you.
My take – on the cast, it is almost a given that they would have at some point in their lives, done something similar to this sort of ‘interpretation’. I duff my hat to their impeccable theatrical delineation.
A great job indeed to the production crew too – very lean, yet effective team, from my observation. And when the director mentioned all was done with the natural light and sound, I was in complete awe. This could have easily become a docu-movie, but the rhythm and life flowed through, from the script through the cast to the camera.
Overall, it’s a good movie and I must warn you, once is not enough, because it leaves you asking.
