My Father’s Shadow Review: A Quiet, Haunting Journey Through Lagos

Genre– Drama
Director – Akinola Davies Jr.
Writers– Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies
Cast – Sope Dirisu, Godwin Chiemerie Egbo, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo
Runtime – 93 Minutes
My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½☆

Where to watch/stream My Father’s Shadow

You feel like you are riding along with them, seeing Lagos for the first time through a child’s eyes

There’s something about My Father’s Shadow that will just stick with you after watching it.

Plot Summary of My Father’s Shadow (Spoiler-Free)

Folarin is a father trying to juggle work, life, and the invisible weight of his own history, as he takes his two young sons, Remi and Akin, on a trip to Lagos.

Their journey is chaotic in all the ways that a road trip with kids tends to be – unexpected detours, strangers, and moments that could be magical or terrifying depending on which way you look at them.

Along the way, the film shows us the smells, the sounds, the color, and the noise of Lagos, all filtered through the eyes of children trying to make sense of it, and without giving anything away, the story mixes the playful curiosity of the kids, the tension of the city, and a father’s quiet reckoning with things he has left unresolved.

My Father’s Shadow Review: Is It Worth Watching?

I loved it – it has a kind of quiet power that will stick with you for sure.

As you watch it, you feel like you are walking alongside Remi and Akin, seeing Lagos for the first time through a child’s eyes, and somehow feeling the weight of a father’s past pressing gently but insistently on the day.

Lagos is enormous and beautiful,, and it’s never just a background – it’s the streets, the bridges, the water, the people you pass by, and on the children’s reactions to it – it really makes you feel like you’re discovering it yourself, where I could almost smell the lagoon.

The journey of the characters is full of small, unpolished moments that could easily be ignored in a more polished film, but here they matter, where the boys argue, joke, get frustrated, and wonder about things adults have already learned to ignore.

Remi, the older brother, carries the kind of responsibility older siblings always do, trying to answer questions that even he probably doesn’t have answers for, while Akin’s curiosity is unstoppable and often embarrassing for the adults around him.

Folarin himself is charming and funny, but there’s a distance there, the sense that he’s always running toward or away from something, and that his past isn’t done with him yet, and some of the film’s best moments come when the boys start to see their father through other people’s eyes – his old friends, colleagues, and even lovers – and realize there are sides of him they didn’t know existed.

One of the sequences that stuck with me the most is a religious ceremony on a beach littered with shipwrecks, where there’s something almost absurdly poetic about it – saltwater, rusting metal, children learning the truths about their father in whispered, careful confessions – and it felt like the kind of scene that would haunt me for days – the dialogue there is simple but it cuts deep.

Of course, it’s not all soft focus and gentle confessions, and we also get sudden jolts of violence, reminders that life is unpredictable, and that death is never far away, where some scenes make you sit with the reality of the world these kids are navigating, and it’s almost a cruel reminder that innocence has limits and life keeps moving, whether we’re ready or not.

And then there’s the historical context – the day of the film is the day of Nigeria’s 1993 presidential election, the first in a decade, and it’s layered in tension that is subtle but always present – and watching Folarin’s private struggles alongside the national turmoil makes the stakes feel higher than a single father’s road trip.

When the annulment of the election is announced later, it lands with real weight because you’ve been living through this day with the characters, invested in their world, invested in Folarin’s hopes and regrets.

I will say, the pacing might throw some people off though, as there’s a quiet patience to the film that makes it feel longer than it is, but it’s intentional, as it’s meant to feel like a day, where moments stretch and shrink depending on how intense they are for the characters.

The camera takes its time on the small details, and those little things matter, as they give the film a texture and rhythm that you don’t always get in modern cinema.

The soundtrack is another highlight too, as Duval Timothy’s piano floats over scenes, sometimes soaring, sometimes fluttering nervously, and you might find yourself pausing to just listen, and when the music fades, you notice how quiet it suddenly feels.

Some transitions between scenes feel slightly jarring at times though, and there are moments where the story’s focus drifts before returning, while a few characters could have been explored more deeply, though I suspect that’s part of the point – they’re seen through the eyes of children, after all, which means not everything gets explained neatly.

But overall, My Father’s Shadow is quiet, observant, and sometimes a heartbreaking journey that balances humor, tenderness, and reality, and it’s a film that rewards attention, curiosity, and patience if you let yourself sink into it.

What I liked (And What I Didn’t like)

Pros

Sibling chemistry

The boys are real-life brothers, and it shows.

Lagos

The city is vibrant, chaotic, and full of life.

Emotional depth

The film handles fatherhood, grief, and memory with care and nuance.

Child perspective

Seeing the world through Remi and Akin’s eyes gives the story some real freshness and wonder.

Music score

Duval Timothy’s piano is gorgeous.

Subtle political context

The historical backdrop adds weight without overwhelming the personal story.

Some of the humor

The boys’ dialogue and antics bring lightness to the more tense moments.

Pacing that reflects real time

The film moves like a real day.

Cons

Some jarring scene transitions

A few cuts between locations feel abrupt.

Minor character development gaps

Some secondary characters could have been fleshed out a little bit more.

Not always easy to follow

Child perspective is great, but it can make certain plot points subtle and easy to miss.

Who might like My Father’s Shadow

• Fans of character-driven stories
• People interested in Lagos or Nigerian culture
• If you enjoy road trip stories with emotional depth
• Those who like films about family relationships
• People who appreciate slow-burn narratives

Who might dislike My Father’s Shadow

• If you want fast-paced action
• People who prefer clearly explained backstories
• People who dislike slow, observational pacing
• Anyone expecting a conventional road trip movie
• People who dislike tonal shifts between humor and grief
• Anyone who prefers dialogue-heavy films

Final Verdict: Did I Enjoy Watching My Father’s Shadow?

Watching this film felt like being invited into someone else’s day – messy, bright, tender, frustrating, and unforgettable, and it’s one of those movies that stays with you in the best way possible.

My Father’s Shadow Trailer

Simon Leasher

A lover of cinema for over 35 years, I have watched many films from around the world in many different genres, yet I still normally always come back to trashy slasher horror films when in doubt. More

And yes, The Godfather 2 is better than The Godfather.