"My Father's Shadow" launches a miraculous double-edged feat with a rather simple structure. Written by Brothers Akinola and Wale Davies, the film is directed by the former, covering a day of a day of traveling from a small village in rural Nigeria to the bustling capital Lagos. But as the audience is attracted to this intimate and observed drama, the carpet is pulled from below by revealing the violence and conflict below. It was such a disastrous technique that it completely subverted the film and elevated it into a deep humanist narrative.

As shown in the opening scene, the two brothers (Akin and Remi) have a playful, opposite relationship with each other, just like most brothers’ ends of age. Have love, singleness and slight resentment. Their shared admiration for their father Florian (Øpẹ́dìrísù) further deepened their connection. Their way becomes quieter and more conservative as they are around him, which is immediately obvious. Since he made a living in the capital, they couldn't see him much. This distance increases the respect of how children view their fathers. He looked more like a mythical character than his parents.

When their mother was not at work, Florian took his sons to Lagos for a day trip. He wants to collect wages. On the way, their bus broke and they had to hitchhike. After arriving in Lagos, they met several people, which were strange to the children, but they seemed familiar with Florian. They travel to the beach. Florian was unable to see his boss and collect his money. All of this is presented in well thought out scenes that always reveal the characters rather than the storyline. The script will explain how children interpret the alien world in adults. The camera looked at the open-minded but somewhat confused eyes of the juvenile body.

The story was written by two brothers, created by two brothers, and is semi-autobiographical. This authentic historical context was further enhanced by filming the film on the day when the results of the turbulent 1993 Nigeria election were announced. Florian and some of the people he interacted with were hopeful. They saw the change. However, the revolt of the opposition was brutal overwhelmed by the army, with the constant announcement of unrest in television and radio. Hope is replaced by fear. Storytelling always stays in the boys’ pv, never revealing more of what they understand, thus adding emotional effect to the narrative.

Meanwhile, Florian is the creation of the aesthetics of the film. The Davies Brothers made a fabulous father. He is the object of idolatry, just like any father in the eyes of children. dìrísù should put him at the top of the casting list in an inspiring performance, fantasizing with a realistic but quiet performance. He plays the vision of his father, seen in the eyes of his boys, and a man who has gone through difficult times in his life, trying to give multiple responsibilities to his family, work and the country.

Florian was or may still be a politically active allusion. While he was traveling in Lagos, he was stopped by multiple people. His little boy saw the respect these men gave him, and the leadership he directed effortlessly. They also watched the woman react to his confident sexy manner. This provided many turbulent colors for his performance: anger, desire, humiliation, helplessness, heroism - all underneath every constituting sentence he said and every measuring action he took.

The filmmaker's other strokes were playing the brothers of Chibuike Chibuike Marvelous Egbo and Godwin Egbo, respectively. Their interactions have a natural and relaxed authenticity, whether they love each other or controversial. Is it because they are instinctively talented actors, or because they are real brothers? Both. Eventually, this doesn't matter, though, as their synchronous performances shock the film effortlessly grace. It seems that by so natural and relaxed, they are enhancing the already keen authenticity of the film.

The filmmakers suggest the fantasy elements of the movie at the beginning of “My Father’s Shadow.” In the voiceover, we hear a boy say, "I will meet you in my dreams." The movie by Akinola and Wale Davies may be semi-autobiographical, but it is also a plaguing imagination of what they could have. What happened may have happened, but maybe it didn't. It is the power of the film; they imagine their childhoods full of interactions of their hopes. In making a fictional version of their own life, they managed to create a meaningful memory to keep and persevere – for them and anyone who has the pleasure of watching the movie.