Nigerian filmmaker Taiwo Egunjobi’s fourth feature film had its debut at the NollywoodWeek Film Festival. Titled “The Fire and the Moth” (2025), the film is an imperfect but intriguing attempt at blending the philosophical aspects of the theme with the adventurous structure of the story. The film’s story has a smuggler escaping with a valuable object, leaving behind a trail of lies, betrayals, and violence. The film particularly looks into human greed and how it begets misfortune. Let us look into the story and understand how greed plays a major role in the theme of this film.
The Fire and the Moth (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The story begins with Saba (Tayo Faniran), a local smuggler tasked with delivering a priceless item of antiquity. The item, known as a ‘Bronze Head,’ is deemed to be worth a billion dollars. Naturally, greed seeps in. Not a second passes since Saba rests his hands on the ‘Bronze Head,’ bullets start to fly. Local police, led by the morally corrupt Opa Stephens (Olarotimi Fakunle), kill the two companions of Saba. Saba is shot as well. However, he escapes. He also manages to retrieve the ‘Bronze Head’ from Opa’s clutches.
Fleeing Opa and his gang of corrupt cops, Saba sneaks into a local house. He threatens the resident of the house, Abike (Ini Dima-Okojie), to comply. Abike and her sister lie to Opa once he arrives, looking for Saba, thus saving Saba. Abike quickly realizes Saba’s true nature, as well as the value of the item he is carrying. Seeing an opportunity to fulfill her dreams of settling in the United States, Abike proposes a deal to Saba. In exchange for a cut, she could orchestrate the sale of the head. Initially reluctant, Saba relents and agrees. After all, the head itself is of no value to him. He needs the money to facilitate a much-needed surgery for his ailing father.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the scheming duo, two things happen. Firstly, we see the original mastermind behind the theft of the ‘Bronze Head.’ A white man living in a mansion, named Francois. Francois grows impatient as Saba’s boss, Ibrahim, does not get him the head in time. So he employs a ruthless assassin (Jimmy Jean-Louis). As this Anton Chigurh-like assassin waddles through a pool of blood, another interesting event takes place. A customs officer by the name of Teriba (William Benson) is tasked to look into the smuggling issue as well. As rumors of Opa Stephens’ corruption begin to spread, Teriba initiates a separate investigation into the matter.
Abike and Saba are not aware of these developments. Abike’s contact, a white woman named Brennan, seems intrigued by the ‘Bronze Head.’ With her assurances, Abike and Saba grow confident of the sale. However, their naivete begets a severe lack of foresight. Brennan pitches the head to none other than Francois. A shocked and enraged Francois sends the assassin to Brennan’s place. The assassin kills Brennan when she cannot provide the head. Meanwhile, Saba is tricked by Brennan’s man as well. He realizes Brennan was planning to take the head for herself as well. So, he flees the scene once again. He comes back to Abike’s house. Unfortunately for him, he is greeted by Opa Stephens.
The Fire and the Moth (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
How Did Opa Stephens Die?
After Opa arrests Saba, he takes him to a deserted place deep inside the forest. He and his lackeys beat up Saba severely. However, Teriba intervenes. Using his authority, Teriba rescues Saba. Teriba gives Saba one chance to come clean and confess to him. He asks if Saba gives him the ‘Bronze Head,’ he will protect Saba from harm. However, knowing the head is the only way he can arrange the money for his father’s surgery, Saba declines Teriba’s offer of help. Teriba sees no option but to let him go.
Meanwhile, Opa receives a call from his daughter. He is informed that a man from Belgium is asking for him. Sensing a business opportunity, Opa runs towards his house. To his ill fortune, the Belgian man turns out to be none other than Francois’ hired assassin. The assassin threatens to kill Opa’s daughter. Whatever he is, Opa is a good father. He realizes the only option for him to save his daughter is to give the hitman something to work with. If he provides nothing, both he and his daughter will be dead. So, he takes the man to Abike’s house, saying Saba and the Bronze Head are likely to be found there. Unfortunately, once Opa is inside Abike’s house, the assassin kills him, seeing that he no longer needs him.
What Happens to Teriba?
The assassin tortures Abike and her sister for the whereabouts of Saba. Now, Saba was there. Abike tried to trick Saba into giving her the ‘Bronze Head.’ She cleverly exchanged Saba’s bag. However, Saba seems to have anticipated that. He had already removed the head from the bag. Now, both the head and Saba seem to be gone. So, Abike truly has no idea where they could be. Naturally, this seals her fate. The killer kills her.
It appears Saba was hiding inside the house only. As he tries to escape, the assassin spots him. A chase ensues. The assassin gets Saba in his shooting range. However, Teriba interferes. Teriba was already scoping Opa’s house. He sent his subordinate to Opa’s house, where the assassin put a bullet in his head. So, Teriba followed them to Abike’s house. Teriba shoots at the assassin. However, the bullet only manages to graze the killer’s neck. When the killer starts his retaliatory firing, it kills Teriba.
What Happens to Saba and the Bronze Head?
The assassin finds out that Saba has an ailing father. He figures that Saba is bound to visit his father. So, naturally, he pays a visit to the father first. After having a relatively pleasant conversation with him, the killer burns Saba’s father alive. He receives a call from Francois. The killer confirms that Saba will come now. He has ignited the fire, and the moths will come. As Saba comes to find his father burned to a crisp, he breaks down, leaving the ‘Bronze Head’ behind him, like a valueless object.
What Does the Assassin Represent?
Throughout the film, the McGuffin, the bronze head, is touted to be a harbinger of ill fortune. The object brings forth greed. But greed never comes alone. With it comes betrayals. We see how quickly alliances are broken when greed takes over. At one point, Abike and Saba seem to be working together. It felt like they could finally break the cycle of betrayals and violence by working together to make each other’s lives better. However, that alliance gets severed, too. The assassin, who remains nameless, seems to be the inevitable wrath. Of God, or nature. Whichever way you would like to believe.
The Fire and the Moth (2025) ‘Prime Video’ Movie Review:
“The Fire and the Moth,” directed by Taiwo Egunjobi and with a screenplay by Isaac Ayodeji, is an absorbing crime drama that works well as a dark fable, rather than a gripping thriller. Structurally, Ayodeji’s screenplay, along with the plot-driven dialogues, seems to be aiming for the thrills of a solid western affair. The morally grey anti-heroes, a nefariously fearsome assassin, a vile and corrupt police officer, and finally an eerily enigmatic McGuffin – these seem to be the recipe of an action-filled caper. However, Egunjobi’s treatment of the story amalgamates “The Fire and the Moth” into a hybrid of the contemplative and philosophical slow burn and the energetic adventurous affair.
The film is elevated by Egunjobi’s eye for the splendid visuals. With cinematographer Fadamana Okwong, Egunjobi’s use of exquisite framings renders the aforementioned blend an engrossing experience. It is largely due to this beautiful immersion, “The Fire and the Moth” comes across as a success. With a fine ensemble performance by the cast and an ending befitting the theme of the story, “The Fire and the Moth” will make you, at the very least, interested in Egunjobi’s other works.
