It has been a long while since I saw or heard a great Kenyan romantic story. I know the existence of a few, however, I don’t think I’ve watched one and said, that one is really good! Reason; most if not all romantic movies in our country are complex and heavy emotionally. By the time we get to the pay off, it feels like someone who has been drowning in a pool and then eventually gets saved by the swim instructor standing by the pool. So many obstacles before the love blossoms! It’s tiring at times. Now I know the men in my country are known for not being romantic, but surely not all right?
Boda love, a love story between a Kenyan Boda Boda driver played by Duncan Murunyu and a British lady called Greer is a film that I absolutely loved. The film is produced by Janet wells and Nina Ruiz. It is directed by Janet wells , who co- writes it with Grace Irungu .Eric Gichanga was the Director of photography and I loved loved his shooting style. It made me feel immersed the whole time from the boda boda rides to hiding under the bed.
Now I’ll be honest, I first watched the film during its premiere at Anga cinema diamond plaza 2 on the 20th of September. Well I watched the last 20 minutes only since I got there quite late. I went back to the cinema with my friend the following week and she said she loved how easy and not stressful the film was. And at the end of the film as the credits rolled, the crowd that was there went awwww. I did not hear the awww during the premiere😅. Simply put, the film was made with the audience in mind. A movie you can enjoy on a Monday after a stressful day of playing catchup with work.
The story if very very summarized, is about Jabari and Charlotte, who meet, hang out for a bit around Jabari’s family and they fell in love. They didn’t exactly have a meet cute, but the airport run, ah I mean the Boda Boda – taxi chase scene was so lovely. This film is simple and sweet and doesn’t break you while watching it. Something audiences also enjoy. Sometimes we want to see easy love. One that you don’t have to work too hard for. I know life isn’t like that, at least for me it hasn’t been but I can have the life I want in a romantic film!
The picture is beautiful, the language is simple, although I did wonder why they decided Jabari was a fluent English speaker. I am aware boda boda drivers know English but it would have been interesting if there was just a smidge of language barrier between them.
Now something I deeply appreciate about this film, is the sound! Ooof! The sound quality was crisp!! The music scores by Billy Black, Tetu Shani, Njoki Karu and Charisma made the film ten times better. I left the cinema singing that marry you twice song by Charisma.
The drone shots for this film were also amazing! This guy made Nairobi nights look like nights in Paris that just make you want to find a lover. It honestly is great to see that we have amazing drone videographers in the country. Mr Job Githaka, take your flowers! You did well!
Duncan and Greer had such a nice amazing chemistry on screen. Duncan made Jabari smooth, and calm and shy which makes Jabari look like the most wonderful man. Their spicy scene had a great build up! The chemistry between the actors is palpable, and their performances make the scene feel raw and genuine. Florence Nduta who was the casting director for the film certainly picked the right ones. Keith Chuaga playing inspector was an interesting role. His slightly bad Kikuyu accent made his character annoying which made him stand out. The two younger siblings also had great sibling chemistry. I however think the little sister ate up her role. Justin Mirichii’s character, Brian was great. He definitely made Brian look like a Brian. I don’t know where they got Lindsay, but on behalf of Brian, I would like to ask ,when is she coming to Kenya?😂Kieran Popo always has his way around comical characters and as usual, he did justice to his role, Makori. Nungari Kiore playing sweetie shocked me with her versatility. I’ve seen this girl in several films now, and that girl has range! Also, somebody give the taxi driver more screen time. I want to see something. Since the film presents Charlotte as a victim of a love scam, I loved the fact the the scammer was white. I can’t fully explain why but I loved that it wasn’t a black person.
The film has already gotten nominations at the AMAA 2024( African Movie Academy Awards) for best actor in a leading role, best sound (well deserved!) best soundtrack (again well deserved! and best screenplay. I honestly wish they had a lenghtier screen run since the screenings at anga cinema diamond plaza 2 ended yesterday. I truly cannot wait to see how far the film goes.
Boda love scores an 8 out of 10.
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