Beasts of No Nation (2015)
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A young boy is forced into the life of a child soldier during a horrific civil war in a West African nation.
The story
Agu lives in a small West African village located within a "buffer zone" enforced by ECOMOG troops. When the government falls and military-aligned rebels seize control of the country, many residents flee to the capital. Agu's father secures safe transport for his wife and two youngest children but remains behind with Agu and his eldest son. As rebel and government forces fight in and around the village, the remaining villagers are executed by government forces. Agu manages to escape into the jungle, where he is eventually caught up in a guerrilla skirmish and adopted into the ranks of the Native Defense Forces (NDF).
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Agu, a young boy from a West African village, escapes execution by government forces during a civil war and is recruited by the Native Defense Forces (NDF). Under the leadership of a Commandant, Agu undergoes a brutal initiation involving the killing of a captive and becomes a full member of the militia. He befriends a silent child soldier named Strika. The narrative follows their experiences in bloody battles, including a raid where Agu, under the influence of 'brown-brown,' mistakenly shoots a woman he believes is his mother. The battalion eventually meets the NDF leader, Dada Goodblood, who denies the Commandant a promotion. Following a series of internal conflicts and heavy losses from air strikes, the survivors take shelter in a gold mine. When ammunition runs out, Agu and the other soldiers surrender to UN troops. The younger children are sent to a missionary school. Agu, suffering from drug withdrawal and trauma, eventually confides in a counselor about his past before finally finding a moment of peace playing in the ocean with the other boys.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 138
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Krio; Twi
- Directors
- Cary Joji Fukunaga
- Writers
- Cary Joji Fukunaga · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Idris Elba; Kurt Egyiawan; Jude Akuwudike; Emmanuel "King Kong" Nii Adom Quaye; Abraham Attah
- Genres
- war drama
- Themes
- Human cost of war; Child soldier exploitation; Trauma; Loss of innocence
- Tone and mood
- Sobering; Uncompromising; Hopeful
- Premise and plot tags
- War; Drama; Child Soldiers; Guerrilla Warfare
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2005 novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and numerous accolades.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 91% · review count: 150; Metacritic · score: 79 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Awards and nominations
- BAFTA · Best Supporting Actor · Nomination; Golden Globe · Best Supporting Actor · Nomination; Spirit Award · Best Supporting Actor · Win; SAG Award · Best Supporting Actor · Win
- Production trivia
- It was the first film to be released directly on Netflix.; The film's dialogue is faithful in form to the novel, originally written in Krio.; The costumes for the child soldiers were inspired by the uniforms of the Kamajors.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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