Diamonds in the sky [Review]
The film tells the story of three women in different social classes and their journeys to cancer diagnosis. Three people with different stories, at different phases of their lives — the upper class Managing Director and the middle class student with symptoms of cervical cancer and the lower class trader with symptoms of breast cancer.
The film is a creation of Leah Cancer Centre to raise awareness about cancer. It stars Ali Nuhu, Femi Adebayo, Adebayo Salami, Omowunmi Dada, Yvonne Jegede, Toyin Abraham, Joke Silva, Binta Ayo Mogaji, Bimbo Akintola, as well as two great Yoruba movie veterans, Yemi Shodimu and Ayo Akinwale.
So let’s get into the long and short of the story.
The MD already went through menopause but began bleeding profusely as if her menstruation had miraculously reappeared. She was given a basic diagnosis by her doctor but advised to visit an oncologist at the Leah Centre for further tests. This was where she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and advised to get a hysterectomy in order to save her life.
The trader had a painful lump in her breast which she thought would eventually disappear. She did so many things to make it disappear including applying different balms such as Aboniki and visiting a fake prophet. Eventually, she was advised to visit the Leah Centre for a check up; here she was diagnosed with breast cancer and advised to go through chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells or remove her breasts to avoid the spread.
The student had really bad menstrual cramps on a regular basis but then one day she passed out and had to be rushed to the university clinic. She was referred to a teaching hospital but her fiancée insisted that his cousin’s private hospital would be better. Here she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and was advised to get a hysterectomy which meant that her womb will be removed and she’ll be unable to conceive. She was a young woman in her prime, about to be married so this news was absolutely devastating. Due to this new development, she tried to self sabotage her relationship because according to her she no longer deserved love; at the same time, her fiancées family attempt to break up their relationship. I loved how his father handled the situation. We all have that one person in our family who likes to feed our parents with nonsense information — the “bad belle” of the family as my Nigerian people would call it. Eventually, her friend referred her to the Leah Centre where she found out that she didn’t have cancer. Can you imagine the relief? how shocked we were to find out that all that drama she went through with her fiancées family over her inability to have children was for nothing? Patience is indeed a virtue!
The great thing about the film was that there was all this drama going on in their lives when all of a sudden cancer hit and added to their already tedious lifestyles. How do they cope?
It shows the importance of getting the right information and why doctors are trained to keep patients calm, especially when delivering bad news. We were shown six different doctors and their different delivery styles. It also shows the importance of a support system; when you tell people your problems, there will most likely be a solution eg referral to the right clinic.
Apparently women who start having sex earlier in life (teenage years) are at a higher risk of contracting Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) so they give girls the vaccine as young as 9 years old.
It really is so sad that we cannot pin point the exact cause for cancer so that we can avoid whatever it is. Another problem is that a lot of lower class individuals will have this disease but are unaware of facilities like the LEAH centre who charge next to nothing for a test. There are only so much awareness drives one can do.
The film, set in Ilorin, Kwara State, was produced by Femi Adebayo, directed by Kunle Afolayan, DOP was Toka McBaror. Three powerhouses. In terms of acting, Kannywood’s finest, Ali Nuhu is a hit or miss for me to be honest but he was pretty decent in this one. Femi Adebayo is a fantastic Yoruba actor; in English films he’s not the best, however in this he was quite good. He didn’t over act like he usually does in English movies. Toyin Abraham had a very small role in this but she added the necessary sauce; she’s a brilliant actress.
I’ll give the film an 8/10 because they had a clear goal and the message was passed in a beautiful way. Diamonds in the sky is available to watch on Netflix.
