Reviewed by Ajibare Abioye
Just for the Street has a nice opening that would settle any audience into a movie. Although this flow is disrupted right after with some choppy editing, the short film has bits and pieces of a cinematic atmosphere to it. The story centres on Taiwo and Kehinde, a set of twins from the same womb, studying the same course, but with different applications of it. The movie portrays, as Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, that you would serve either God or money. It remained to be seen which of these contrasting paths led to the desired destination for each twin.
Just for the Street has a number of musical pieces, which is one of the things that stands out in it. Its story is also befitting for a short film, and I commend the producer for probably resisting the temptation to bloat the runtime in a bid to make it reach the 40-minute feature movie benchmark. Regarding the music, I opine that fair depiction should have been given to both parties. Taiwo’s numbers are delightful and secular, while Kehinde’s are bland, though godly. Purely on a musical level, most audiences may have found themselves rooting for T-Class’ “Joy” and hit single “Confirm”, rather than the short, ordinary renditions of Kehinde.
Because this film has a story to tell, there are a number of issues naturally brought up in it. One is rather saddening – the way that some Christian organisations have treated gospel arts ministers, which has led to the latter being subsequently ‘forced’ to make certain demands before honouring invitations. We should not be doing this to ourselves; we really shouldn’t. Through Kehinde’s life however, we see that as long as we keep our faith in God, our call from the palace will come and we will not miss out on the good things of life in the long run. Taiwo on the other hand, gets both what he desires and what he does not bargain for. More than the music, it also shows the benefits of a godly lifestyle.
This movie shot entirely on a smartphone is a good watch and does well with its quality music production.
The link to the movie is https://youtu.be/uH2QjhgItaw?si=POgGuKoH_7TCjgq3
Till the next review, stay blessed!
Film Credits
JUST FOR THE STREET
(January 8, 2024)
36 minutes
Rising Star Drama Group
Cast
Samuel Obembe as Taiwo
Rachael Tolulope Israel as Kehinde
‘Nido Bisola Ajo as Iya Ibeji
Crew
Director
Faith Babs
Writer
Faith Babs
Cinematographer
Akindele Boluwatife
Editor
Faith Babs