War- through the eyes of a child.

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2016)

Without a doubt one of the best films to be released by Netflix. Beasts of No Nation presents the realistic and brutal portrayal of poverty, war and vengeance all through the eyes of a young boy. During a fierce civil war in an unspecified West African nation. Agu's family is brutally murdered after their village, initially in a buffer zone comes under a ferocious attack from both rebel and government forces, this forces him into the jungles to fend and survive for himself until being being captured by rebel soldiers and forced into their ranks, as a child soldier. As the film progresses Agu becomes more and more psychologically and physically scarred by the horrors of conflict. Beasts of No Nation stars Abraham Attah as the young, trouble Agu and Idris Elba as the power-hungry, merciless Commandant who leads the battalion. The story of Agu while tragic presents a thoughtful and powerful evolution from boy to soldier and back to boy. The gritty realistic portrayal of war is a definite praise for the film and it's smart use of cinematography (to point out a particular scene) magnificently shows us the depths and context of war. It's intense and gripping action again captures the feeling of a real life battle and the mix of contemporary and tribal music both motivates and pays homage to ancient elements of conflict. My flaws with the film are a few pacing issues, generally in the first act and a few audio issues, especially in understanding Agu's narration. Beasts of No Nation runs through all the themes and emotions and presents us with a masterpiece of a film, that while uses common elements and themes of war, overall gives us a whole new perspective and point of view of war- through the eyes of an child. 9/10