A child is forced to become a soldier after his war-torn country is fractured
by civil war and he's captured by a charismatic but psychotic commandant. DRAMA/WAR
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Beasts of No Nation (2015)Written and Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga
Starring Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye, Kurt Egyiawan, Teibu Owusu Achcampong, Jude Akuwudike Based on the novel by Uzodinma Iweala |
Beasts of No Nation was Netflix's first foray into original motion pictures. Hundreds of films later, they're one of the biggest studios in the game. But it all started with this brutal depiction of child soldiers in an unspecified war-torn African country. It's an unforgiving, destructive, intense film that feels all too real at times, thanks in part to a host of fantastic performances led by what may just be the best of Idris Elba's career thus far. His Commandant is a charismatic leader and a soulless monster who is manipulating an entire war to suit his own ambitions. But the film is not told through his eyes. Our hero is Agu (Attah), a child who goes through hell and emerges a broken man.
Agu's family is butchered by rebels and he is captured in the jungle by a group of child soldiers led by the Commandant. The Commandant takes a shine to Agu and takes him under his wing, transforming him into a soldier and forcing him to kill. Agu loses his innocence quickly, in more ways than one. But there's some humanity left in him that can't be killed, but God knows it suffers greatly at the hands of the Commandant. We never learn what country this is supposed to be, but many African countries have dealt with war on this scale. This could be anywhere, and these stories are all too frequent and real. Beasts of No Nation remains one of Netflix's greatest films and a frightful depiction of real-life atrocities made palatable for an audience. Idris Elba is a monster and does a phenomenal job showing the manipulation skill it takes to steal the innocence of children and turn them into a private army. These people exist and they destroy lives. This film shines a light on that at the very least. |