With the presidential election an agonizing 9 months out, citizens of the United States take to all sides to complain about all things. Real issues happening on the other end of the world are the furthest thing from our thoughts as our leaders bicker over wall street and walls.“Beasts of No Nation” was written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga – one of the minds behind the HBO hit television series “True Detective.” The elitists behind the Academy Awards shockingly snubbed the independent film, which failed to garner a single Oscar nomination. Despite this, the Netflix produced movie will go down as a pioneer in the forthcoming revolution in the way television and movies are created.
“Beasts of No Nation” lacks the budget of a big Hollywood piece, and is devoid of recognizable stars with one exception. After I watched his portrayal of drug baron Stringer Bell in the HBO serial series “The Wire,” Idris Elba became one of my favorite actors. I’ve since seen him in “American Gangster” and “Takers.” His brief role in the comedy series “The Office” displays his great range of diversity and I’m fully on board with the smooth talking Elba taking over for Daniel Craig as the next James Bond.
In “Beasts,” Elba again demonstrates his immense talents, this time in the role of an African militant in charge of a ragtag group of rebels engaged in a bloody civil war. But the focus is not on Elba’s character; It follows the story of a young boy named Agu. From a poverty stricken archaic village to the front lines of a senseless war, Agu’s journey is one few in the civilized world could fathom.
“Our country is at war, and we are having no more school.” Agu (played wonderfully by Abraham Attah) narrates to open. Agu and his friends watch a makeshift village soccer match, play with a broken television set, and dance and sing in merriment, happy with their simple lives in the supposed safety of the buffer zone. No name is given for the country – none is needed. The perils of African tribal war can translate to hundreds of locales.
Agu comes from a loving family. He’s close to his older brother, his loving parents, and his baby sister. These simplicities reflect that a life without the burdons of technology and wealth can in fact be all that one needs. When news breaks that the government has been overthrown by armed rebels, a war with no rules and no decency is imposed on everyone.
Brining the reality of African warfare is tricky. Writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga does so in a way not seen since the Academy Award nominated “Hotel Rwanda.” One minute Agu is playing in a carefree manner with his friends. The next he is hiding in the shadows with the percussion of gunfire all around.
Idris Elba owns the screen in the role of the unnamed Commandant. A man who starts as a fatherly figure to Agu before his purely evil intentions reach the surface. Elba delivers every line in a way that makes the viewer watch with awe. After his captivating initial scene, one would think the London born Elba were imported from the jungles of Kampala.
Rarely do child actors succed to top levels, but the previously unknown Abraham Attah will make you stop and take note. An early scene depicts Agu being forcefuly separated from his mother after the rebels have taken over. Attah delivers the emotion with a stellar punch; tears streaming in a flawless way as he utters the line in narration that brings the travesty home: “and this is how it is starting…”
Cary Joji Fukunaga is just a few days younger than I am, and already shows the makings of the next great filmmaker. One of my favorite scenes is a long shot that shows Agu slowly walking through the remnants of death and decay en route to the Commandant. With guns and bodies strewn around like litter, you forget he’s just a child. Fukunaga captures the atmosphere in a most gripping way.
“Beasts of No Nation” is a good film with terrific acting and a truly compelling story. Its graphic by nature, but something those mired in first world problems need to see.
by – Matt Christopher
