GREEN WHITE GREEN (and all the beautiful colours in my mosaic of madness)

Don’t judge a book by its cover. This movie hits the right spot for those who’ve experienced the post secondary school life in Nigeria, makes it sugar-creamy enticing for those who lived elsewhere and those still looking forward to this period(which might well disappoint you due to a sudden overflow of time resulting into boredom.)

Going into this movie(on my bed not a cinema),my plan was to have one less stuff on my ever growing Netflix list. This felt like the first suitable piece to start with cos it honestly looked annoying and I was ready to watch, experience multiple cringes, get it over with and off my list.

We all looked forward to finishing secondary school in the past while some are still looking forward to this part of their life. Not trying to scare anyone, but it won’t turn out so great as you are planning as it didn’t for us, which is focused on in this movie. The days after secondary school and looking forward to university is basically what this movie is about. It shows the good, the bad, the funny and the messy view of being a young adult in Nigeria with little or no opportunities which is well translated in a very Naija way.

Watch the trailer below:

This is a coming of age story about a group of friends from different backgrounds socially(Haves \Have Nots)  and culturally, (talking about the major tribes out of so many in Nigeria) facing reality with what life is really like after high school and making decisions for the future which all has to be made independently. This is always one of the most challenging periods for group of friends as they realize the road ends here for frequent group hangouts and life dreams & destiny don’t come in group packages. This period can either break them up totally or tie them stronger together as they can’t all end up in the same place due to different backgrounds financially and socially.

Although we’ve looked forward to this period(days after secondary school) as soon as we moved into the senior secondary school making different mental plans on how its going to be spent and getting excited to being free from school ‘wahala’, we are always left stunned with what it throws at us. As it always happens with life, the days came and life again happend: it became too much for us and we got bored. So so boring, the silent walks within the walls of our houses was enough to keep us fit, taking into account how much we ate during this time due to boredom. Nigeria with her issues and problems doesn’t make it an easier ride either. We either get broken or use this as a catalyst for self discovery and growth.

Alongside boredom are other feelings also. Feelings of nerves, anxiety and excitement all caused by the angst of not being sure about the next step to take going forward or not even sure you are getting a place in one’s desired uni. The dread of not gaining admission in one’s first year is enough to make 24 hours run like 72 all filled with jitters and great worry. Is the dream to big? Are my grades good enough to get me a spot? Am i sure I am taking the right step? Do I even know what I want to do next? are all the questions that run in our idle minds.

GREEN WHITE GREEN (and all the beautiful colours in my mosaic of madness) illustrates this life quite accurately by infusing daily common Naija elements like unemployment,  culture, tribe, family pressure and societal class into play while not overdoing it. Sharp and witty dialogue also makes you relate with this movie on a close level. At some point it almost felt like a mirror was placed in the direction of the life I lived then with my friends, featuring the bants and mini adventures we all enjoyed,detested and still felt hungry for more. GREEN WHITE GREEN (and all the beautiful colours in my mosaic of madness) is definitely going to make you feel the same way while not making you feel too bad about that period of your life. You would just want to laugh out loud while remembering more episodes of your life from that period as the movie correctly pictures it.

“So did you take it off your list?”

No. It was too good and original to be removed. I still have this wonderful piece of art on my Netflix list hoping to watch is as more times as I can in the future as time permits.  Hopefully it remains on Netflix for a while.  I could get a shoutout from Netflix during their end of the year statistics release as the user who watched GREEN WHITE GREEN (and all the beautiful colours in my mosaic of madness) a staggering 101 times far away from home. “You really miss home dear user. Go home bro.” Maybe! Let’s hope.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MOVIE ON NETFLIX

Bis Bald!