I do not remember a time when I have watched a film adaption of a book I have read and liked it. I was lukewarm about The Long Walk To Freedom, Twilight series are not too bad and neither are the Harry Potter films. With Half of the Yellow Sun, though some scenes are sloppy and theatrical. I generally like the choice of actors, but the movie as a whole, not much.
If you don’t plan on reading the book then you will definitely enjoy watching this movie especially because you will not be comparing it to the book.
It takes us back to the moving history of the 1967 Nigerian Civil War. It tells a tale of two twins Olanna (Thandie Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) who are used to a sophisticated and glamorous life and make shocking decisions when they finish school. Even when times are really hard, you can tell from the way they talk, laugh, eat and dress that they come or rather came from a rich family. Came, because when the Nigerian civil war breaks out, in which the Igbo people are fighting to establish Biafra as an independent republic, the violence that comes with it shocks everyone, and leaves everyone that stays in Biafra with nothing. Kainene’s dining table that had a variety of exotic meats is left with one type of meat – bush rats. But even this is eaten with so much dignity, it might as well be chicken. Half of a Yellow Sun is a heartfelt movie, it is a reminder and clearly paints the toxic post-colonial times. But if you like to read, the unwritten rule is that you read before you watch the movie.