There are movies that don’t just entertain you, they make you pause and reflect on your life, the choices you’re making or about to make now, and the ripple effects those choices may have when you’re older. The Lost Days is one of those films. It holds a mirror to the audience and reminds us that whatever we become in life is tied, directly and unavoidably, to the personal choices we make. And when the consequences come, no one, absolutely no one, can be blamed. This message lies at the heart of The Lost Days, layered beneath its other themes.
Chisom (Ifeoma Fafunwa), a cancer survivor returning after her battle with lymphoma, seeks to reconnect with her old friend and former lover, Baba Kola (Bimbo Manuel). Her aim is simple: to make up for lost days and perhaps make peace with the choices she made thirty years ago. But stepping back into Baba Kola’s life, who is now the father of two grown sons Moses (Baaj Adebule) and Kola (Okutagidi Durotimi), reopens emotional wounds that time had only managed to cover, not heal.
Her presence is like a gust of wind sweeping through a room that had settled into silence. Everything becomes unsettled. The tension between Kolawole and his sons starts to rise. One striking moment that stirs the hornet’s nest is when Baba Kola puts Chisom to sleep in the room that once belonged to his late wife. Kolawole becomes visibly upset. But the real reason for his anger, we are told, lies in what his late mother once told him about Chisom. That backstory, however, feels shaky and is never fully convincing. His son’s resentment feels a little too convenient, almost as if the script needed conflict and quickly reached for it. What kind of adult gets angry at this act? This sudden outburst lacks the emotional weight needed to make it believable, and because of that, the tension feels forced.
The film also doesn’t take much care to preserve suspense. When Chisom is kidnapped, it seems almost too easy to suspect Kolawole. The narrative makes you lean in that direction, but when the plot twist comes, that Moses, Kolawole’s elder brother, is the actual mastermind, it catches you off guard. And in a good way. For me, this twist comes with a lesson that evil doesn’t always come in scary packaging. Moses, who had been praised throughout the film as the calm, responsible one, turns out to be manipulative, greedy, and far more dangerous than his carefree, cigarette-smoking brother. That contrast is one of the film’s more effective moves. It subtly asks: what if the person we call “the good one” isn’t so good after all?
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But then again, the film doesn’t always trust its own message to land naturally. It tries too hard to be didactic. At its core, The Lost Days is telling us that our personal choices define us, regardless of our background or circumstances. It’s also about the fleeting nature of life, especially when faced with something as serious as a life-threatening illness. These are strong themes, and I appreciate that the film doesn’t just say them, it tries to show them. But in trying too hard, it occasionally crosses into unbelievable territory. For instance, Chisom’s kidnapping in a small village goes unresolved for too long, despite the presence of the police. When the final confrontation happens and a gunshot draws Nkem and Baba Kolawole to the scene, it’s unclear how the police arrive so suddenly. Who called them? When? It’s moments like these that make the story feel rushed or stitched together.
The characters, however, are well cast for their roles. Nkem (Cynthia Clarke) comes across with a natural ease, the kind of polished charm you’d expect from a girl raised in a posh, well-structured home, and she delivers that effortlessly, especially in her growing connection with Moses, which feels incredibly real and unforced. Chisom carries herself with elegance and a subtle, controlled body language; her reactions are always precise, never overdone. Bimbo of The Party is just the right Baba Kola I like, his grace on screen is unmatched. Durotimi brought raw passion to his role, while Baaj surprised me with a layered duality I hadn’t fully noticed before Flawsome.
Also worth noting is the beautiful portrayal of Abeokuta, where Baba Kola lives. From the unnamed local festival to the serene mountains and rivers where Baba Kola and the boys go fishing, the setting adds a rich, authentic backdrop to the story. These scenes give the village its own quiet charm and make the rural setting feel well-chosen and purposeful for The Lost Days.
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But just when we think the story has already driven its message home, the film closes with Nkem and Chisom literally preaching to Kolawole and Moses about choices and consequences. This moment feels unnecessary. The lessons had already been shown, we had seen them unfold in the characters’ actions and regrets. Repeating them through a verbal lecture weakens their impact. Sometimes, it’s best to let the audience feel the message rather than be told.
The Lost Days begins on a strong note, carrying a clear message about personal responsibility. It handles this message with sincerity. But in trying to juggle suspense, romance, and family drama all at once, it loses some of its grip. Still, there are moments that cut deep, especially in how the film shows that the past never truly disappears, and how every choice, whether made in love, fear, or selfishness, shapes everything that follows.
The Lost Days is streaming on Prime Video.
