[yasr_overall_rating]
A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Fukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation,” is the type of film that leaves you a bit stunned once it’s over. You walk out of the theater wondering, “What the hell did I just watch?” A tad shell shocked, you leave the theater in a dazed and confused state of mind, and attempt to slowly reconfigure the reality that lies before you. It’s the sort of film that weighs heavy on the heart and mind and isn’t for the faint of heart. With that being said, “Beasts of No Nation,” is cinematic excellence. You are immediately sucked into this story, there isn’t the obligatory, “Now what’s all this about, who’s who, what’s what,” mindset present because the film doesn’t allow you to even entertain analyzing it; you’re just in it. You’re in it and you can’t get out.
Based on the novel by Uzodinma Iweala, “Beasts of No Nation,” is told through the perspective of Agu (Abraham Attah), a pre-adolescent child living in a war torn African nation, split apart between the government and various rebel factions, all fighting for what they think is best for the people and yet are hardly phased by killing innocent civilians as if they were mere fodder.
Agu, his brother, and friends are left to their own devices, as school is no longer available. They are all fairly carefree and mischievous, peddling their “inventions” to people around the village for petty cash and food. Despite the situation, Agu is content until the war actually reaches his village and suddenly finds himself alone after tragedy strikes, forcing him to abandon his childhood and adopt survival. Panicked, Agu escapes to the forest and comes upon a group of rebels, child soldiers, and their formidable and bewitching Commandant (Idris Elba). After some berating, Agu accepting his situation and knowing he doesn’t have many options, goes with the rebels. He is initiated into the group through various spiritual rituals and merciless killing.
Agu is continuously in battle, both physically and mentally. With his morality constantly pitted against his means of survival, he struggles to maintain a balance in his emotions, ranging between a sullen madness to a numbing loyalty to his new band of brothers and surrogate father, the Commandant. Agu quickly becomes one of the Commandant’s favorites and he both benefits and suffers for it until the very end.
There is an air of mysticism and a sense of the hallucinogenic throughout the film; despite the brutality, the movie is beautiful. Intensely enrapt, you find there is a dreamlike quality to the film albeit a devastating dream. This is partly due to Fukunaga’s talent of creating the right balance of atmosphere. As with previous films and projects (“Jane Erye” and HBO’s “True Detective”), the atmosphere in “Beasts of No Nation,” lingers, on the skin and the mind, like a sickness that produces the most revelatory art. The presence of Idris Elba as the Commandant also adds to this, he is both terrifying and demonically endearing, as he charismatically engages with his warriors, boosting them with the spiritual energy of their ancestors. He is father, warrior, and then eventually whittled down to the basest of men.
I can honestly say that “Beasts of No Nation,” a Netflix film, is the best I have seen this year. It carries with it an authenticity that is in the same vein of Meirelles & Lund’s “City of God” (Cidade de Deus), compelling, brutal, and effortless. Cary Joji Fukunaga has created a film that will not be easily forgotten.
In select theaters now including the Landmark Magnolia in Dallas and on Netflix Streaming
