An amazing view into the war culture in Africa

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2017)

The film "Beast Of No Nation", directed by Cary Fukunaga, was set in West Africa and highlighted the popularity of children soldiers in the war. Agu and his family are off to flee to the country's capital, since the government is being run over by rebels, however on their way to escape, their family gets stopped by the rebels and Agu's family gets killed right in front of him. Agu then runs into the bushes and meets up with a rebel faction named NDF and he is trained to be a child soldier. From there, he and his rebel faction murder not only part of the country's military, but go on a killing spree through the country even when the people have done nothing wrong. When the Preacher becomes the new lieutenant, he recommends that all the soldiers surrender to the UN since they will either starve to death or be murdered, however the Commandment refuses to give up. Agu and the other child soldiers join the preacher in giving up and are sent to a missionary school, in which they receive food, shelter, and education.
The movie was extremely well produced and really showed the effects of revenge and how the war scene that was taking place in Africa. The acting was phenomenal, especially the young children and how they presented their drainage of themselves after they have become young murderers, so to speak. The camera angles when they are killing the men and women are very impactful, especially in the scene where Agu makes his first kill along with another child soldier with a machete. When the boys are chopping the soldier's head in slow motion and the blood splatters onto the camera lens, it really emphasizes the brutality of the war and how these once innocent children were being introduced into blood thirsty savages. Overall, the film does an amazing job showing the inhumane conditions children and adults have to go through during the war and the effects it has on people in general.