Review of Beasts of No Nation (2015) by Kevin M — 28 Nov 2015

**** Good.

Writer-Director Cary Joji Fukunaga, the acclaimed director of the "True Detective" series, has demonstrated that he could be a beast in Hollywood director nation with his latest gripping movie "Beasts of No Nation". The film stars child actor Abraham Attah as Agu, a child whose family is murdered by an oppressed army of an unnamed African country. Agu is then sort of rescued by a rebellious group led by the domineering commander subtly named Commandant played fiercely by Idris Elba. Agu then transforms himself into a child soldier and is forced to kill many by the Commandant. That is a killer childhood no child should experience. Funkunaga transports us into a brutal African society where survival is just the matter of life, and rebellion forces becomes an unwelcome necessity. My only flaw of "Beast of No Nation" is that it was maybe twenty minutes too long. But the beastly performances from Attah and Elba more than make up for that matter. "Beasts of No Nation" is not the feel good movie of the year, but it just might be the feel important movie of the year.