Son of the Soil

The corrosive effects of drugs, organised crime and corruption on society have been well documented in fact and fictional films. Mainly this has been in the US and Europe. Son of the Soil takes the viewer into Lagos, Nigeria and the tragic effects there.

Ronke (Sharon Rotimi) is a crusading reporter working on the effects of a fentanyl type drug when she receives a tip off that crime boss Dr Baptiste (Philip Asaya) is heading towards a hotel bedroom. Dressed as a maid she witnesses and records Baptiste inject and murder a prostitute.

Ronke is killed making her escape but crucially Baptiste’s men don’t get the mobile and the evidence it contains. Ronke’s brother Zion (Razaaq Adoti) returns from his home in America for the funeral and to uncover what really happened.

What he finds is grinding poverty with the local population either dependent on drugs, living off petty crime or forced into the clutches of the organised crime gangs. The police by a large are corrupt so Zion is pretty much left to his own devices to find the truth. His devices are his hands and anything they can get a grip on.

Written by its star Adoti, directed by Chee Keong Cheung, Son of the Soil is a gritty revenge thriller that also shows the desperation of a section of society where poverty and crime are endemic.

Adoti tramps around the local area trying to get a handle on a society he left a while ago and now seems to barely understand. Which gets him into some sticky situations that even with all his military training he cannot fully control.

Filmed mainly with handheld cameras the action sequences are grim and rough with none of the slickness that hallmarks western productions. The violence typically builds to crescendo when the gangs confront each other.

In some respects, the film is stronger honing in on the destructive nature of drugs and crime. This is encapsulated by Remi (Ijelu Folajimi) a young orphan girl who has made the streets her home and gets by using her guile while chaos surrounds her. She’s an ideal foil for the at times seemingly naive Zion.

Son of the Soil is available now on UK digital platforms from Trinity Content Partners.