This is an acting study of Idris Elba. He plays the commandant with such vigor and hateful passion, he steals the show. The oter boy actors are also excellent. Elba is turning them into killers by the minute in this film and it’s something to behold.
Beasts of No Nation (2015)
Not Rated | 2h 17min | Drama, War | 16 October 2015 (USA)
A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Director: Cary Fukunaga (as Cary Joji Fukunaga)
Writers: Cary Fukunaga (written for the screen by), Uzodinma Iweala (based on the novel by)
Stars: Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Affadzi, Ricky Adelayitor
American adolescent children and young men, boys especially, should see this film. I don’t think young men that enlist in the military always have the necessary background knowledge of what it truly means to kill. In Africa, these young men are snatched away from their parents and forced to march with the land military. At that point they use machetes, guns, and whatever they have at their disposal to march and kill then repeat.
This film is hauntingly good yet at the same time repulsive. Elbas’d character shows us what it means to never surrender in this African civil war. If for no other reason, film fans should see this to study the excellent acting Elba does. Because there isn’t much variance in what happens, nor explanation, it lost points but it is still highly recommended. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.
8/10
At time of publishing, this film was streaming on Netflix.
