ENTERTAINMENT
Abraham Attah as Agu in Netflix Beasts of No Nation. Image courtesy of Netflix
FILM REVIEW: Beasts of No Nation, a tale of child soldiers in Africa is a true horror story not for the Faint-Hearted.
BY KAZAD
The devastating consequences of war on children in African countries are at the center of Beasts of No Nation, Netflix’s first exclusive feature film. Adapted from Uzodinma Iweala’s 2005 novel, this is a film about the harsh realities of war and the transformation of a young innocent boy into a vicious killer.
Written and directed by Cary Fukunaga of True Detective-fame, Beast of No Nation takes viewers on a harrowing journey of war through the eyes of a child soldier, Agu.
The story of Agu, a 12- year- old boy played by newcomer Abraham Attah, starts on a happy note. With a happy family: mother, father, brother, and sister, Agu was a happy child. Like many children of his age, he was playful and sometimes incorrigibly mischievous. Occasionally, he pranks his brother and burps at the dinner table. ” I am a good boy from a good family’ Agu says.
Agu’s joyful existence with his family abruptly ends one afternoon when government troupes hunting down rebels invaded and destroyed his village. Agu’s family is killed in the raid. The senseless killing of Agu’s family marks a sharp twist of fate for a child who once had lofty hopes and dreams.
Agu flees his village and escapes into the forest after the murdering of his family and the destruction of his village. There, he is captured and turned into a child soldier. He soon becomes a part of a battalion of child soldiers, whose only survival depends on killing and committing brutal atrocities.
Commandant Idris Elba
At the head of the rebel group is Commandant, a terrifying warlord exceptionally played by Idris Elba of Prometheus, Wire, Mandela, and Luther fame. Commandant is an arrogant, terrifying, and heartless character. From the moment he appears on the screen, walking through a plume of narcotic smoke, Commandant accentuates a no nonsence attributes. With eyes hidden behind dark aviator sunglasses, he looks hansome and menacing all at once. Clearley, this is a man without empathy for anyone.
Commandant’s only concern is glory for his cause. It does not matter whose ox is gored in the actualization of his ill will. With a swagger nurtured by pomposity, Commandant is vicious and intriguingly gruesome throughout the movie.
Under the tutelage of the Commandant, Agu becomes one of the tools for the actualization of the rebel’s desire. His acceptance of a cruel existence means he must become one of the Beasts: He must killer to survive. Agu’s first killing is particularly gruesome. Blood splatter, filling the camera as the dull thump of a machete penetrates the skull of a driver. Even as the man begged for his life, Agu was merciless.
Agu Becomes a Killer
Agu’s killing of the driver marks a major twist in Beasts of No Nation. From a good boy from a good family, Agu has become a killer who murders without compunction. In one scene, Agu shoots and kills a woman after hallucinating that the captive could be his mother. Agu’s justification for killing the woman, in this rather thought-provoking scene, was to protect her from being raped.
Commandant taught Agu well. A menacing and charismatic leader with outstanding ability to brainwash his followers, Commandant is terrifyingly brilliant. Throughout the film, he cleverly manipulates his followers using intriguing stories that elevate him to the status of the spiritual head in some instances. The extent of his power is evident in one of the scenes where he mentally prepares his soldiers for war. In a ritual comprising of war dance and charming, he whips up his soldiers into a savage frenzy with the obsession to kill.
Beyond using his charming attributes, Commandant also gives his child soldiers drugs to incite his soldiers into a killing fury. ‘Brown brown’, a mixture of cocaine and gun powder is given to the child soldiers as Commandant turns them into killing machines. The power of ‘Brown brown’ on the human mind is evident in one scene where the young soldiers are preparing for war. Agu goes into a trance after a bout of ‘brown brown’ and everything around him suddenly become esoteric. The lush green grass turns pink and he begins to see ghostly warriors in full war regalia and fearsome masks.
Beasts of No Nation: Winners and Losers
Beasts of No Nation is not a movie about winners or losers. It about the devastating consequences of war on innocent souls. Agu’s transformation from a joyful young lad to a killer highlights the psychological and physical impact of war not just on children but also women and all those engaged in the killing of other human beings.
Fukunaga’s brilliance behind the camera makes Beasts of No Nation a compelling movie. Shot in the humid jungles of Ghana, the director explores multiple camera angles, including and close-up shots to bare the pains of war. With tight shots, Agu’s transformation from horrors of witnessing his parents killed, to his resignation and final acceptance of his fate is told with shocking effects.
Agu’s story is absolutely depressing and discomforting to watch: It is a narrative about childhood innocence and the calamities of war especially on children. Agu’s descent from an innocent child to a cold-blooded killer is the story of many children in war zones, especially African countries. Children are kidnapped and turned into child soldiers. From Rwanda to Sudan and Congo, the indoctrination of children as killers is prevalent.
Beasts of No Nation is not just a revealing movie about child soldiers and the gruesome effects of war but also a condemnation of the international community. In one of the scenes, a United Nations van drives by as rebel soldiers descend on a village with murderous intentions. Not once did the United Nations soldiers intervene or try to stop what ends in a massacre. In a reminder of Hotel Rwanda, the United Nations soldiers watch as innocent people are killed.
Not for the Faint-Hearted
Beasts of No Nation is not a story for the faint-hearted. From the beginning to the end, Fukunaga presents a harrowing experience of war that is not often discussed. The film is a reminder of the commonality of what happens in rebel groups and wars that recruit and indoctrinate children to become fighters and killers. Painfully, the process from recruitment to becoming soldiers and ardent killers takes less than two hours. The fact that the story is situated in an unknown African country gives credence to a common thread that runs across rebel war zones: the indoctrination of children into killing soldiers.
Elba’s Commandant explicates the fate of rebel leaders. Although Commandant’s control of his army of miscreants is very effective, it did not last. A broken and bitter man, Commandant’s Messianic relevance and charismatic speech diminish to the ranting of a mad man. In the end, he is abandoned by his men who subsequently surrender to UN peacekeepers.
Message of Hope
Beasts of No Nation is a devastating movie to watch. However, it also carries a message of hope. Agu is not a lost cause underneth all. Although he becomes a killer without empathy for others, there is humanness deep within him. His friendship and relationship with Strika, another child soldier, exposes the love deep within Agu that had been buried by mountains hatred and viciousness. For those who are quick to judge, Agu is direct and explicit: “You will think that I am some sort of beast or devil,” he says, “but I also have a mother, father, brother, and sister once. They loved me.” Indeed, they did.
Is Beast of No Nation Worth Watching?
Yes, Beast of No Nation is worth watching despite some of the very harrowing scenes. This is an intriguing and powerful story that exposes the hidden atrocities of war. The unraveling of the consequences of war and Agu’s transition from a loving child to a senseless killer is realistic and penetrating. This is a powerful drama. The super acting especially by Idris Alba and the lead young boy gives credence to the absorbing narrative. It is impossible to overlook the outstanding performance of other Beast of No Nation casts.
Cast
- Idris Alba (Commandant)
- Abraham Attah (Agu)
- Ama K. Abebrese (Mother)
- Kobina Amissa-Sam (Father)
- Teibu Owusu Acheampong (Preacher)
- Grace Nortey (Old Witch Woman
- Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye (Strika)
- Kurt Egyiawan (2nd I-C)
- Jude Akuwudike (Dada Goodblood)
- David Dontoh (Linguist)
- Opeyemi Fagbohungbe (Sergeant Gaz)
- Teibu Owusu Acheampong (Preacher)
Beasts of No Nation Trailer
Beasts of No Nation – A Netflix Original Film/Youtube
Innocence Raped in Beasts of No Nation, a Horror Tale of Child Soldiers. What do you think about the story? Share your thoughts: Leave a Comment.
