REVIEW: ‘Mami Wata’ Delivers a Gorgeous and Vivid Fable

Written and directed by C. J. Obasi, Mami Wata basks in ethereal, vivid, black and white filmmaking. Noteworthy for its abundance of visual beauty and avant-garde framing, the film is a sleek, stylish, and personal depiction of folklore and how it builds off the intersection of spirituality and culture. Based on West African folklore, Mami Wata surrenders itself to a lush, visual landscape that breathes as much life into the story as the characters who share those myths, becoming myth makers and figures of legends themselves. Mami Wata played at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2023. 

The opening credits define “Mami Wata” as a “water goddess worshiped and revered across West, Central, and Southern Africa.” That sense of worship is what’s challenged in Obasi’s film, as members of the village Iyi begin to question their faith in the goddess, as their Intermediary, Mama Efe (Rita Edochi) having disappointed them in recent events as children in particular have suffered from either being taken by Mami Wata or have died, the Intermediary’s prayers and practices unable to bring them back. She’s warned by her daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) and her protege Prisca (Evelyn Ily Juhen) that the village will need tangible answers soon. 

Tension mounts with the arrival of a rebel deserter, Jasper (Emeka Amakeze) who further threatens the peace of the village. If Mama Efe promotes tradition and faith, and Jasper the violence that stems from the manipulation of power and the promise of progress, then Zinwe and Prisca stand as pillars of positive change and growth. The two are a balance between honoring the fables their village is built on while seeking modernized medicine that could help save a sick child. 

The performances are solid, if not overtly emotive, but it’s the astonishing technical accomplishments that run away with the film. A marriage of tone and form, this surrealist film, formatted like multiple fables, creates individual frames of pure art. This is especially true of any scene on the beach. For a film so often drowned in the curtain of night, the scenes shot during the day are particularly vibrant. The use of black and white recalls similar landscape imagery as classic filmmakers, from Ingmar Bergman to Akira Kurosawa. There’s something eerie about the daytime as captured by Obasi and cinematographer Lílis Soares. By contrast, the night scenes, especially those as Zinwe or Prisca stand small in the presence of the ocean, become more dreamlike, detached from the world as so often it’s just the character’s profile that is lit amongst black backdrops. 

From the traditional costuming and makeup to the sound design that makes it so the ocean and the depths of its mystery remain an omnipresent figure in the film, Mami Wata is moving through its artistry. The score by Tunde Jegede is similarly stirring, creating such a vivacious, sonic landscape that the dialogue nearly becomes unnecessary when added to the scope of the world and the clear focus on the actor’s faces as they silently take in the world. 

The only main drawback is the pacing, which struggles to maintain a sense of momentum in the plot. The film works best as a tone poem, awash in feeling through imagery rather than clear plotting and the relationships between characters. Obasi’s film is enormously ambitious, and there’s certainly a personal indulgence that infuses the story, elongating a runtime that could’ve been shortened for greater impact and clarity. The imagery and its beauty are abundant, but it’s threatened to be overlooked as the film takes its time in moving the story forward in each act. 

Regardless, Mami Wata is gorgeous. The distinctive visuals and craftsmanship behind the scenes build a picture that’s captivating, creating something bold, dreamlike, and mythical, as it tackles topics of realism and fable to transform the old into the new. C. J. Obasi’s latest is a profound, sensory experience. 

Mami Wata played at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2023.