*This review contains mild spoilers and description of violence*
The two decades following the World War II saw the release of several war movies that are now considered classics. The Guns Of Navarone (1961), The Great Escape (1963), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Where Eagles Dare (1968) are a few examples where the underlying theme celebrates the heroic acts of a group of soldiers fighting against the evil enemy. During the rebuilding phase after the war, the western world needed common heroes and there was no better medium than movies to deliver them to the masses. But now that the world has been in a relatively stable and peaceful state over a long period, there has been a gradual but definite change in the general public’s perception of wars. Hollywood has taken note and consequently shifted its narrative from glorifying battle victories to telling its negative and long-lasting impact on individuals and communities. Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979), Stanley Kubrik’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Clint Eastwood’s companion pieces Flags Of Our Fathers / Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) are some of the examples of this shift.
‘Beasts Of No Nation’, Netflix’s first ‘Original’ movie, firmly entrenches itself into the second category. Based on the novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, it throws light on the brutal nature and futility of war from the perspective of a young boy named Agu. Agu lives with his family in a small African village and leads a carefree life. But their village is an oasis in the otherwise volatile country ravaged by a civil war. Very soon, the war between the government forces and the armed rebel militia reaches their doorsteps causing the women and children to flee to the city in a mad rush. Agu gets left behind with the men of his family but realizes very soon that they have no way out if captured by either of the faction. Agu makes a dash for the jungle while the military carries out a brutal massacre of the innocent villagers believing them to be rebel soldiers in disguise.
Agu comes across the rebel forces who are led by a commandant who takes him under his wings. The commandant’s troop consist of children aged roughly between 4 to 18 who are heavily armed with guns and weapons. On orders of their leader Dada Goodblood, they march across the jungle in to the city winning a few bloody battles on the way. But due to a sudden turn of events and political pressure, Dada Goodblood strips the commandant of his authority. Because of this deception, the commandant rebels against his own leader and drives his troops back into the jungle to fight his own war. But now they are on the run from the army as well their own soldiers. Realizing the senselessness of their mission and the bleak future that lays ahead, Agu and other child soldiers surrender to the UN troops and go into rehabilitation.
Comments:
The movie is narrated to the viewers by Agu who starts his story in a moment of time when all is well in his life with endless possibilities ahead. He is a mischievous kid who bunks his classes, plays pranks on his brothers and friends and is loved by his family. He sells broken TVs to the peacekeeping forces by calling them ‘Imagination TV’ where one can imagine anything like ‘soap opera’, ‘break dance’ and ‘kung-fu’ and can see it being performed by Agu and his friends by peeking across the non-existent picture tube. But his life is suddenly turned upside down when faced by the very real civil war that surrounds them. We get the sense of the urgency and helplessness of the innocent villagers in a couple of chaotic scenes where the women and children are forced to leave the town and when the army guns down the men of the village. These are shot in a mind-numbing manner and although the brutality of war can never be replicated on the silver screen, kudos to the director and his team for making them seem so real.
Agu’s transformation from an innocent boy to a child soldier happens organically. Forced by the circumstances, Agu is wandering aimlessly having lost almost all of his family and little chance of reuniting with his mother. Staring an almost certain death, Agu has no choice but to join the rebel group led by the commandant that he encounters in the jungle. Sadly, this situation would be all too common for many of the child soldiers in the group. With nothing to lose in life and no good role models to look up to, these young ones are initiated into the wrong and dangerous ways and take to drugs and arms which are readily available. Without even realizing, they end up losing their innocence. Just as they imitate their commandant giving orders (the only father figure they have) on a playing field in the evening, killing for them becomes a mindless game to be played out on the battlefield during the day.
The most impactful scene in the movie comes in the form of a 3-minute one-shot sequence that shows the rebel child soldiers taking over a town and killing the residents ruthlessly. The camera closely follows Agu walking through all the carnage, until he comes across a woman about to be raped who he mistakes for his mother and hugs her. It is an extraordinary moment where we realize that amidst all this killing around him, Agu is still a child looking for his mother. But when he realizes his mistake, he walks away leaving her to be raped and joins in the violence. At that moment, Agu’s voiceover narrates to us that if God is watching them, he will see that they (the child soldiers) have turned into beasts. He comes back and kills the unfortunate woman thus putting her out of her misery. Finally the camera pans out of the window to show the scale of the carnage that’s unfolding across the entire town. If there was ever a scene in a war movie that’s as impactful as the Omaha Beach invasion in ‘Saving Private Ryan’, I would say it was this one.
Throughout all the violence around him, Agu manages to form a close bond with Strika, a mute boy of his own age. Strika does not say a word in the movie, but is there to support Agu through his trials and tribulations. Unfortunately, during the troop’s exile after rebelling against Dada Goodblood, Strika meets his tragic end. In a very poignant scene, Agu bids farewell to his only friend in this entire ordeal. At this stage, with many of their colleagues dying, ammunition running out and no real way out from their situation, the whole battalion loses its strength to fight. They have truly turned into beasts who are claimed by no group as their own. They surrender after sensing the futility of the war and the senselessness of it all. Later, under the supervision of a caretaking missionary group who is in-charge of the children’s rehabilitation, Agu is asked about his thoughts. While the experience of a war is enough to scar grown men for life, it is encouraging to see that above all else, Agu remembers his mother and father and family who loved him. They can be conjured up at a moment’s notice, just like in his ‘Imagination TV’.
Cast and Crew:
Abraham Nii Attah, who hails from Ghana, plays the role of Agu. He is able to portray a range of emotions powerfully – from the innocent and mischievous childhood of Agu to his rehabilitation as a hardened child soldier. His dialogue delivery and body language is powerful and speaks to the viewer’s heart. The other main character of the commandant is played superbly by Idris Elba. Viewers may know him from his memorable role of Stringer Bell in the HBO hit ‘The Wire‘. The British actor who is known to play polished and suave roles, has transformed himself as a rough and rugged commandant who’s on the run.
At the helm, is director Cary Joji Fukunaga. He seamlessly makes the transition from small screen (Season 1 of True Detective – available on HBO Max) to the big. At 138 minutes, the movie is slightly on the longer side, but Mr. Fukunaga has maintained a good pace throughout and it never feels like dragging on.
An interesting observation is that they never mention what country is affected by the ongoing civil war. No direct or indirect hints have been provided, However, it may be assumed that it’s some country in West Africa as the movie was entirely shot in Ghana and Mr. Fukunaga insisted on having several ex child soldiers from nearby Liberia and Sierra Leone where over 10,000 child soldiers fought in a decade long civil war.
On a final note, some of you may be surprised to know that this movie was the very first Original movie on Netflix. Although the movie was financed by Participant Media, Red Crown Productions and a few other production houses, its worldwide distribution rights were bought by Netflix in 2015 and was released simultaneously in theaters (limited release) and streaming platform. As movies had to have a wide theatrical release for a certain number of days to be considered for Oscar contention and those streaming on platforms were not considered, this gem of a movie missed out on at least a few potential Academy Awards nominations.
Final Thoughts:
‘Beasts Of No Nation’ is a powerful look on the brutal effects of war on communities and especially child soldiers. Definitely not for the faint hearted.
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