Director: Frank Rajah Arase
Producer: Frank Rajah Arase
Cast: Okawa Shaznay, Ramsey Nouah
Year: 2017
In Soul Tie Frank Rajah travels in time to tell a story about love and marriage. He sticks to his favorite employee, Cameroonian actress Okawa Shaznay, and Nollywood star, Ramsey Nouah plays the male lead.
Soul Ties is a period drama that dramatizes the instability of a newly married couple. Marriage has its ups and downs and the increasing rate of divorce in our society is a reason to question marriage in the 21st century. Frank Rajah tries to convince us that marital problems did not start in the 21st century, he does not allow his character have any type of relationship with family, or with friends. We hear family get mentioned, and also, ex-boyfriends play a part in the couple’s journey, and while they influence the woman’s journey and her refusal for sex after marriage, we never see these people.
While Shirley Frimpong Manso two cast period piece “Rebecca” strikes a balance between Modernization and the lack of it. Frank Rajah’s aim is different; he seeks to create a film that admonishes married couples on marriage and the disputes that arise as a result of two completely different individuals choosing to build a life together. We watch a couple refuse to talk to each other over an issue that could be resolved in some minutes, we watch them argue over flimsy things, and maybe these captures the challenges of many new couples learning how to live together, but his purpose is to tell you of problems that exist in marriages, and will always exist even without the interference of family or friends.
You need great patience to watch a two cast film but Ramsey Nouah makes it worthwhile; he switches between proper English and a Yoruba accent. He is lovable, as always, and Okawa as his companion is more relaxed in her role. She does use the deep facial expressions we are used to. She embodies the ‘girl next door’ persona with this project and it is interesting to watch her be different.
Soul Ties is currently streaming on Iroko TV and the costumes and cinematography will leave you impressed. If you are a lover of art that pushes the boundary, and tries difference, in a field where difference is hardly accommodated, then Soul Ties is a film you should watch.
Nollywood Observer 
I watched this movie for the first time on 26th December 2019. As a young lady I had a lot of lessons to learn from it ranging from the fact that it is possible to turn each other’s imperfections to perfections in the presence of dialogue and understanding. Communication is key and the absence of it can create lots of assumptions and over-reactions which can eventually lead to un-informed or misguided decisions.
The setting was wow, the costumes and sound tracks confirmed what we hear and read about the 70s.
Kudos! Frank Rajah Arase, Nollywood will always need creative people like you to shape the world and people’s character through film. And to our lovely actors: Ramsey Nouah and Okawa Shaznay, thank you for always bringing the best out of you just to ensure the message gets home.
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