Beasts of No Nation
Go! It's war, but not as you know it.
Child soldier's heartbreaking life.
Netflix, you sneaky dog. The popular video on demand service has been making waves in the world of TV shows, but Beasts of No Nation may be its first feature-film tidal wave. Written, directed and shot in Ghana by Cary Joji Fukunaga (director of the punchy True Detective, Season 1), and based on the début novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala, Netflix bought the rights and released it for streaming simultaneously with a UK cinema release. A taste of things to come? The death or revitalisation of cinema? That remains to be seen. For now, our only question is - Netflix subscribers - do you go to Beasts of No Nation or not?
Beasts is set in a fictional West African country during a civil war. A boy no older than 10 or 11 named Agu (Abraham Attah), is thrust into the conflict after his village is overrun by government forces and his family is murdered or forced to flee. Picked up by a rebel commandant (Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Agu is left with little option other than to become a rebel soldier, fuelled by the need to avenge his family. The film's 2 hours and 20 minutes trace Agu's transformation from innocent child to battle-weary combatant in parallel with the wavering fortunes of his commandant and the brutal evolution of the country's political and military turmoil.
Beasts is set in a fictional West African country during a civil war. A boy no older than 10 or 11 named Agu (Abraham Attah), is thrust into the conflict after his village is overrun by government forces and his family is murdered or forced to flee. Picked up by a rebel commandant (Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Agu is left with little option other than to become a rebel soldier, fuelled by the need to avenge his family. The film's 2 hours and 20 minutes trace Agu's transformation from innocent child to battle-weary combatant in parallel with the wavering fortunes of his commandant and the brutal evolution of the country's political and military turmoil.
It is a rarity to see any film through non-western (indeed, non-white) eyes; particularly a war film. Flicks about the World Wars, Iraq, Vietnam and Afghanistan are numerous, but most are generally channelled through the same, narrow, American or British perspective. Widely-distributed films about war in Africa generally follow this pattern - Hotel Rwanda, The Last King of Scotland, Black Hawk Down, Zulu, Blood Diamond and Tears of the Sun all fall into this category. For those of us fortunate never to face it first-hand, our perceptions and understanding of war are, therefore, heavily moderated. The motivations, interactions, rhetoric, techniques, even the composition of the characters in a squadron all become laboured and cliché. With all the thrust of a rocket launcher, Beasts of No Nation refreshingly bucks this trend.
Inevitably, there is plenty to be horrified by in Beasts, so it's not "Netflix & Chill" material. Seeing a sweet child becoming curdled by conflict - hands and soul blistered by bloody acts - is not pleasant; particularly knowing that his story has occurred in someone's reality. There are intense moments of raw and graphically depicted brutality - some of which are perhaps excessive, but always appropriate given the weight of the subject matter. To avoid alienating the audience with violence, Fukunaga craftily puts us in Agu's position giving us tastes of what the character must feel. Interspersing moments of youthful joy between the tragedy of the whole, he undulates our emotions like a hilly landscape behind which the impending sunset of Agu's decent into darkness seems inescapable. Despite the squalor of war, there is colour and humour, pride and honour (even if misplaced); and always a strong sense of family that accurately reflects many West African societies. It is difficult not to crack a smile when the barbarous troupe's call in appreciation of their leader asks, "How does your Commandant look?" and, "All right, Sir!!!" comes the emphatic, unified - yet modest - response.
The script clearly strives to be convincing. Aside from a few lapses, a lyrical (and relatively accurate) style of West African English is allowed to sing through, and the use of subtitled Twi (a language native to Ghana) during the first 30 minutes, as well as many actual West African actors gives the film an important sense of authenticity.
The script clearly strives to be convincing. Aside from a few lapses, a lyrical (and relatively accurate) style of West African English is allowed to sing through, and the use of subtitled Twi (a language native to Ghana) during the first 30 minutes, as well as many actual West African actors gives the film an important sense of authenticity.
In this vein, interloper Englishman, Idris Elba's accent is strong, despite occasional undertones of Nelson Mandela creeping in. He performs well as the headstrong and ruthless commandant, giving us a tiny shaft of hope that he might indeed be the freedom fighter attempting to rescue his country that he claims to be, rather than the thuggish, abusive and manipulative bastard that his actions suggest. That said, it is when the focus of the story changes to Elba's commandant or the act of war itself that the film meanders and loses some of its direction.
Instead, Beasts is at its most magnificent where the focus is on Agu and the excellent, heartfelt and accomplished performance of 13-year-old, first-time Ghanaian actor Attah, that Beasts of No Nation becomes magnificent. Asked to audition while playing football on the street, it is the young man's performance that makes this film; an accolade recognised by the Venice Film Festival where he won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for emerging actors. He is genuinely exceptional and exceptionally genuine, with a huge emotional range and a veracity of character that cannot be faked. He gives the film its essential heart and is the main reason why it is so compelling.
So go, because this is a film about war that is different from the norm; but stay for the buoying performance of a young Ghanaian actor who somehow sows a seed of beauty amongst the putrid squalor of war.
Instead, Beasts is at its most magnificent where the focus is on Agu and the excellent, heartfelt and accomplished performance of 13-year-old, first-time Ghanaian actor Attah, that Beasts of No Nation becomes magnificent. Asked to audition while playing football on the street, it is the young man's performance that makes this film; an accolade recognised by the Venice Film Festival where he won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for emerging actors. He is genuinely exceptional and exceptionally genuine, with a huge emotional range and a veracity of character that cannot be faked. He gives the film its essential heart and is the main reason why it is so compelling.
So go, because this is a film about war that is different from the norm; but stay for the buoying performance of a young Ghanaian actor who somehow sows a seed of beauty amongst the putrid squalor of war.
#beastsofnonation #idriselba #netflix #cinema #moviereview #filmreview #movies #films #godontgo