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Half of a Yellow Sun (2013) is the story of twin sisters, Olanna and Kainene's return from Britain to a post colonized Nigeria on the verge of a civil war. They are from a wealthy family and Olanna and Kainene are very different from each other in their appearance being non-identical twins and in their personalities although they both want a unified and better Nigeria. This movie is based on the novel from one of my favorite authors, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This story follows the ups and downs of these sisters and the people in their lives.
I recently watched the U.S. premiere of this movie hosted at the Houston museum of fine arts and the event was lovely. As for the movie I was in complete awe. I read the novel when I was much younger only because my mother told me it was a good read, though I did not have a lot of interest in reading at that time. I should have taken my mom more seriously as well as the book because while watching the movie I learnt a lot about Nigeria as well as myself. Being Nigerian although spending most of my time in city of Lagos, I was never told the true horrors of the civil war. Of course I knew there was a civil war, I feel my generation is completely oblivious to the toll the war took on our nation and Half Of A Yellow Sun enlighten me on our history. While watching the movie, all the dots seemed to automatically connect without my awareness. All of a sudden it made sense why various ethnic groups in Nigeria act differently to one another. Although growing up in the city people push that aside because of western influence, jobs or just because it never was a concern that affected their lives. And I fall into that category of those people.
I could talk about this movie for countless hours but I do not want to give away any spoilers and ruin it for those that want to watch it. But I will say this, Half Of A Yellow Sun is a masterpiece in the sense of it's production and editing as well as the acting and story line. I urge you to watch this movie even if you are not Nigerian. It is a story of family and perseverance, that I believe everyone will enjoy!
