How many films can you say were so good you had to watch them again… because once wasn’t enough? For

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Okay, so let's talk about everything we picked up in My Father's Shadow that is rooted in Nigerian culture, spirituality, and the way grief is expressed. Because this film has so many layers. Spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen it yet, pause this, go and watch it on movie, and come back.

[00:00:14]>> This is essentially a film about memory, inheritance, and the way grief and love travel through a family.

[00:00:19]>> In this case, Fola and his two sons, Remi and Akin. Through objects, dreams, and again and again through words. There are two big themes we've picked up watching it again. First is dreams and remembrance. How has your mom warned you about something because she had a dream?

[00:00:34]In a lot of Nigerian homes, dreams are taken seriously. They carry warnings or come through as signals. They aren't always literal, but they're rarely ignored.

[00:00:42]>> The film opens and closes with the same line, "Dear father, I will see you in dreams." This sets the tone for the whole story. At the beach, Fola tells Remi about his older brother who drowned, and how years later he started dreaming about him constantly. He says an old woman told him his brother was restless because nobody called his name anymore. And she said his wife would have a son, and told him to name the boy after his brother. He did, and the dream stopped. So whatever you make of it, the idea is powerful. Naming is a form of remembrance. How many of you are named after your grandparents, or an auntie, or an uncle? Names carry weights in Yoruba culture because they're linked to ori, the inner head and destiny. And they also hold memory. As Fola says, the memories that pain you when someone leaves are the same ones that will comfort you later.

[00:01:29]>> The second theme is the concept of death and transition. One of our favorite scenes is with the old man at the amusement park. He's grieving his wife, but what he's really carrying is regret.

[00:01:39]Everything he didn't say while she was alive.

[00:01:41]>> When he says to Fola, "Help me tell her," it feels like he's foreshadowing that Fola might not have long left either, and some things need to be said while you still can. Which takes us to the most heartbreaking moment in the film. We felt it coming, but when it arrived, we still were like, "No, not yet."

[00:02:00]>> The funeral scene is stunning, though.

[00:02:02]The vibrant adire, the procession, the talking drums, the communal singing.

[00:02:07]It's [music] such a powerful example of how mourning can be held collectively.

[00:02:10]>> And if you didn't cry at this part, you're stronger than us because the moment they started singing that Yoruba [music] hymn, we were in bits. It's a funeral hymn about reunion after death, a way of saying goodbye while still holding onto hope. If you haven't seen my father's shadow yet, [music] it's streaming on Movie Now. Get 30 days free by clicking the link in our bio.

[00:02:30]>> And if you've already watched it, rewatch it and let us know what you noticed the second time.