Beasts of No Nation

Rating: 10/10 (3 December 2015)

In this century, various movies which pretend to denounce the terrible social and economic conditions in Africa have been made (such as Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond and, to a certain point, Lord of War). More recently, Beasts of No Nation reminds us that the problem remains... even though it never reveals where the story is developed or what the ideologies of the factions in conflict are. That's an audacious strategy, because by omitting geographical or temporal details, the narrative gains universality and avoids the moral dilemmas of the conflict between "good" and "evil" ones. Who is right doesn't matter; the consequences are the same for the innocent victims who are absorbed by military (or para-military) machinery which requires a constant renewal of troops in order to perpetuate a hollow crusade in which violence seems to have become an end in itself. Sure, I thought about all that after Beasts of No Nation was over. While I was watching it, I found myself frequently confused, with the sensation that I had missed something important because I didn't understand who was fighting against who, and I didn't know the motivation of the rebels or the defensive troops. However, I later realized the fact that the point of the film isn't the political diffusion, but sharing the main character's naive perspective, who is one day into imaginary games, and the next one is brandishing an assault rifle to shoot people he doesn't know for reasons he doesn't comprehend. The effect is simultaneously devastating and curiously distant, coldly examining the events without contaminating them with moral judgements or cultural rationalizations... exactly like a kid would do. Abraham Atta brings one of the most honest and natural performances I have seen this year, not only when he shows up on the screen, but also during his brutally revealing narration. The rest of the cast also makes an excellent work, highlighting Idris Elba. The technical aspects are also brilliant, contrasting the horrors of war with the beauty of African settings. Dan Romer's music highlights some scenes, but, like Cary Joji Fukunaga's direction, it never tries to artificially exalt the audience's emotions. In fact, that can be considered the mandate of this extraordinary movie: portraying a sad reality without seeking solutions or offering false hopes. The situation exists, and it would have been disrespectful to seek Hollywood formulas to solve it. There is no happy ending, but at least, there's an ending. Sometimes, that's the biggest blessing.