Genre: Drama
Runtime: 133 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Idris Elba, Abraham Attuh, Ama K. Abebrese, Opeyemi Fagbohunge, Richard Pepple
Description: A drama based on the experiences of Agu (Abraham Attuh), a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Review: “Beast of No Nation” is the first original drama film for Netflix. And it’s a big gamble. It isn’t just a serious arthouse film, but also an expensive production with risky shots. And the cast is relatively unknown. But the talented director Cary Fukunaga, known for the first season of “True Detective” and the movie “Jane Eyre”, is someone you can trust with a project like this.
“Beasts of No Nation” opens in an unknown African country. There is a civil war going on, rebels are fighting the government. The country has safe zones, like the village of leading character Agu. He hardly notices anything of the war going on. But that safe feeling ends. The rebels are getting closer and there is decided to evacuate women and children. In all the chaos, Agu is left behind with his father and brother. The government troops mistake Agu and his family for rebels and his father and brother are killed. Agu manages to escape, but ends up in the hands of the rebels. There Agu is trained to be a soldier.
The main theme is the dehumanization of child soldiers. It appears that there are still almost a half million child soldiers on our planet, which makes this film topical. The film is focusing on one boy going through the process of becoming a child soldier.
Agu is played by Abraham Attah. He manages to touch us and projects his emotions very well. But Idris Elba, who plays Commandant, is phenomenal. He is scary in his presence, but he is also a man you will understand and respect. Elba created a fascinating character.
Netflix made a great choice to make “Beasts of No Nation”. The film shows the horrors of war and the sad truth about child soldiers. The result is impressive.
Rating: 5/ 5
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