Review of Beasts of No Nation (2015) by Kj P — 07 Jan 2016

In an unknown place in the world, and after the loss of his family, young Agu runs off only to find a clan of young ones lead by a Commandant. As they teach him to hold his own in the war and kill, the raw human emotion begins to leap off the screen.

This Netflix released picture really shows that they know how to find quality content for their streaming service, because at one point this film was being considered for Oscar buzz. Not only is this a powerful story, but Idris Elba really makes you believe this clan exists and the way he forces his kids to do things is brutally realistic.

"Beasts of No Nation" does suffer from an extended running time and a slightly over calculated screenplay, which to me felt a little tame compared to it's subject matter. I felt as though the film explored more than it explained, which was a very odd thing to do in my opinion.

In the end, this is a very solid film that can be hard to watch a times, but I would still highly recommend. Very well-executed picture!