"If this war is ever ending, I cannot be going back to doing child things".

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2016)

Definitely not a film for the timid or sensitive. College campuses airing the film will require safe zones. The film would have had more poignancy I believe, if it were actually based on a true story, though I have no doubt the atrocities shown in the film are representative of warring factions in opposition to each other in various places on the planet. The inhumanity and barbarism that one group of people can inflict on another convinces me that there is no possibility for the cherished 'peace on earth' that many of us dream and pray for.
For an independent film this picture features exceptional cinematography and outstanding performances. It's probably a toss up as to who delivered the stronger portrayal, Idris Elba as the Commandant or Abraham Atta as the child soldier Agu. Principally told through the thoughtful narrative of Agu, the viewer agonizes along with him as his band of mercenaries terrorizes opposition forces and grow disillusioned over a never ending mission. The hopelessness of their cause is best expressed through the dying words of Two I-C - "This was all for nothing".
There is value in watching films like this so one does not grow complacent in a world that can often be brutal and discouraging. However the film offers only the slightest of consolation for it's principal protagonist Agu, who detachedly relates his story as a child exposed to unimaginable horrors. The challenge he issues to the viewer is to hear his story without imagining him a beast or a devil, as the circumstances of his life have unintentionally trapped him in that corner.