A GHANAIAN FILM NOIR: I TOLD YOU SO (1970)

The term film noir has been debated within film circles except on the African film arena.  Film noir avoiding it complexities, we can safely admit it as classic all time best film.

I Told You So - is renowned among the early feature films in Ghana. On Independence Day TV3 took the trouble to bring back the good old days memory of Ghana films. In the film, you are most likely to be fascinated by the wigs and cloth worn, the singing, dancing, practical proverbs and adages, the high life, traditional and folk music made the film alive and memorable. The dialogue, classic best, “I am using the triple condition of my krachi powers” Esuabrobuo emphasized in the film.

The culture, as portray in the film had some foreign phase but largely local. Had the Ghana film industry followed this format of film making, it would have made much progress on international scene compare to now.

If “I Told You So (1970)” is to be put in today category of films for an award, it would end up sweeping most of the major awards.  The film can be sideswipe for poor lighting and poor sound and black white picture, but again it can be answered in return, it was the best technology available to us at that time

The Ghana film industry has this sickness of not classifying it movies; films are just produced but we have no genre for them. On the face of it, Ghana films are in the genre of melodrama or comic.  So to put I Told You So, in the genre of a film noir comes with lots of caution and behind the scene examination of film facts.  

  

When the film is such that one can see it over and over again and the film seek to spell out the spirit and aura of an era that film has achieve the noir status. A film industry capable of making film noirs is highly respect and rated by authorities of film studies. And surprisingly characters featured in a film noir end up having their status elevated to star noir.

 “I Told You So” has succeed in claiming that spot. Today when Bob Cole in mentioned, we are reminded of the film, when Araba Stamp is mentioned, I Told You So comes to mind, Osuabrobuo, Kapoipoi has been elevate to noir, through that film.

Today’s film makers came emulate the success of I Told You So, it just a matter of going back to the basics. In a recent advice from George Lucas, creator and director of Star wars franchise, to young filmmakers, Lucas stressed that the basics of filmmaking has not changed, it only the technology that has change.

Ghana can build a strong and vibrant film industry by challenging the status quo: and one of the ways to shift the boundaries of film making in Ghana is to aspire to noir status.  Catch you on the slip side of noir, am out.