By Peter Skrzypczak, Film Critic.
“How does the Commandant look?”
“ALRIGHT SIR!”
“Beasts of No Nation” is a harrowing film that follows young Agu (Abraham Attah) as he is ripped from his family and subjected to a life of violence and death. Fleeing for his life in the forest, he stumbles across the Commandant (Idris Elba) and his faithful group of child soldiers.
I loved this film. Usually with sensitive war films like this, there are multiple times where I’m taken aback by the images on-screen. This film follows that trend, but what sets it apart for me was that it didn’t feel like the movie was trying to simply shock the viewer. It doesn’t shove every death in your face. For the most part we are shown the aftermath of war, which gives death a feeling of senselessness rather than pure dramatic shock. It is an examination of civil war and the terror it can bring.
On the production side of things, it really succeeds. Multiple long shots containing lots of action (bear in mind the majority of these actors are kids), unique transitions, and one visual effects shot where all plant life turned red–set the mood in particular.
Spoiler Alert: From this point on, I want to talk about some of the events of this movie.
The film contains parts that may bother people and I would like to talk about why they make the movie a success. One could say the movie fizzles out (as life sometimes fizzles out) but this movie isn’t a popcorn crunching, high climax blockbuster. This is a sad testament to the fact that some people live this.
I can imagine people complaining that the main antagonist(s) don’t get any kind of comeuppance. When the child soldiers run out of ammunition, they abandon the Commandant and then we never see him again. Not once are we even shown the Commandant killing someone – not that he doesn’t do bad things, trust me, he does – but I would say the villains are the kids. Yes, it is the Commandant who takes in these kids, and because of him the children soon believe they are invincible war machines. Brazenly walking through the street, the kids are armed while everyone and anyone is afraid to oppose.
The Commandant rewards their murderous behavior from his position of power but he isn’t the main character, Agu is. Through him we see how monstrous these kids can be, but also how broken they are.
The film gives a sense of how civil war not only tears apart institutions and families, but destroys them. One minute it can be you and your family praying in thanks for a communal meal and in a flash everything is spiraling out of control. Even if the Commandant wasn’t there to take these kids in at their most desperate time, someone would be there to take advantage of the children. They would want to use that anger, that innocence.
I highly recommend “Beast of No Nation”; It’s streaming on Netflix.
This is a powerful film, and not for the faint of heart.
