Beasts of No Nation is a 2015 American war drama film written, co-produced and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who acted as his own cinematographer, about a young boy who becomes a child soldier as his country goes through a horrific war. Shot in Ghana and starring Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Ama K. Abebrese, Grace Nortey, David Dontoh, and Opeyemi Fagbohungbe, the film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala - the book itself being named after a Fela Kuti album.
It was screened in the main competition section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Marcello Mastroianni Award.
The film was shown in the Special Presentation section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, and released on Netflix globally and in a limited release by Bleecker Street on October 16, 2015.
Video Beasts of No Nation (film)
Plot
The village is informed that the government has fallen, with military-aligned rebels seizing control of the country. With rebel forces headed towards the village, many people flee to the country's capital for safety. Agu's father is able to buy safe transport for his wife and two youngest children, but has to stay behind himself with Agu and his eldest son. Rebel and government forces fight in and around Agu's village. While the rebel soldiers flee, The two boys try to escape, but Agu's brother is killed. Agu evades capturing. After undergoing a brutal inn process, Agu becomes a fully-fledged member of the militia.
Agu befriends another young NDF child soldier, Strika, who never speaks. One night, the Commandant summons Agu to his quarters, and rapes him. Strika, another of the Commandant's rape victims, comforts him. Preacher, an older soldier, gives Agu brown-brown to lift his mood. Agu and Strika take part in a number of bloody battles and ambushes. The battalion's success in the taking of several towns, killing hundreds of men, women and children, gains them a summons to the rebel HQ, where the Commandant, accompanied by Agu, Strika, and a few other members of the battalion, go to meet with the NDF leader. They spend an entire night in the waiting area, infuriating the Commandant. When they finally meet the Supreme Commander, he informs the Commandant that he is not being promoted, as he had expected, and is in fact being removed from command. The Commandant's lieutenant will nd gold to pay for supplies. Ammunition runs out, leaving the group with no way to defend themselves from encroaching enemy forces. Agu informs the Commandant of this, and he tells Agu that he must take care of him, as all sons must protect their fathers. As they speak, Preacher, now the new lieutenant, rallies the soldiers to abandon their posts and surrender to the UN, as they will surely starve or be killed if they stay. The Commandant at first refuses to let them go, but relents when Agu says they should surrender. The soldiers all depart, leaving the raving Commandant alone. Shortly after, they are detained by UN troops. The younger members of the battalion are sent to a missionary school in a safe part of the country. Agu stays away from the other children, who play games and enjoy the comfort and safety of the school. Agu is tormented by what has happened, and has nightmares about it.
After much time has passed, Agu tells the school's counselor that he has done some terrible things but he won't go into detail. He is afraid the counselor will think he is some kind of "beast." Instead he tells how he used to be a good boy, from a good family, and that his family had loved him. The final scene shows Agu finally joining the other boys as they swim and play in the ocean.
Maps Beasts of No Nation (film)
Cast
- Abraham Attah as Agu
- Idris Elba as Commandant
- Ama K. Abebrese as Mother
- Kobina Amissa-Sam as Father
- Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye as Strika
- Kurt Egyiawan as 2nd I-C
- Jude Akuwudike as Dada Goodblood
- Grace Nortey as Old Witch Woman
- David Dontoh as Linguist
- Opeyemi Fagbohungbe as Sergeant Gaz
- Teibu Owusu Acheampong as Preacher
Production
Cary Fukunaga directed his own script, after having worked on it for seven years. It was not until after six years of research on the Sierra Leone Civil War that Fukunaga came across the Beasts of No Nation novel. He told Creative Screenwriting, "I read through the novel and I loved the elegant and concise way that Uzodinma Iweala told the story. I felt that would be the best way to enter the subject."
On August 20, 2013, Idris Elba joined the cast of the film adaptation. On June 6, 2014, Ghanaian actors Ama K. Abebrese, Grace Nortey and David Dontoh joined the film. Later, Opeyemi Fagbohungbe also joined the cast.
Red Crown Productions was the financier and producer, along with Primary Productions and Parliament of Owls. On May 17, 2014, Participant Media, along with Mammoth Entertainment, came on board to co-finance the film, initially budgeted at $4.3 million but which ultimately cost about $6 million.
On June 5, 2014, principal photography was underway in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The film was shot at locations in Koforidua and Ezile Bay at Akwidaa. Dan Romer scored the film.
Release
Netflix bought the worldwide distribution rights for around $12 million. The film was simultaneously released theatrically and online through its subscription video on demand service on October 16, 2015, with Bleecker Street handling the theatrical release. Considering the online release a violation of the traditional 90-day release window of exclusivity to theatres, AMC Cinemas, Carmike Cinemas, Cinemark, and Regal Entertainment Group--four of the largest theater chains in the United States--announced that they would boycott Beasts of No Nation, effectively downgrading it to a limited release at smaller and independent theatres. The film was also theatrically released in the UK on October 16, 2015, in Curzon Cinemas.
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 91% based on 122 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Beasts of No Nation finds writer-director Cary Fukunaga working with a talented cast to offer a sobering, uncompromising, yet still somehow hopeful picture of war's human cost." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 79 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".
Idris Elba won the SAG award for his supporting performance, becoming the first movie actor to win a SAG award without being nominated for an Oscar.
Controversy
In 2015, Artnet published an article suggesting that Fukunaga had appropriated content without crediting the work of Irish artist Richard Mosse, whose work had gained notoriety in the art world for its use of infrared film and stirring depictions of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. To support its accusation of plagiarism, the article included direct comparisons of individual frames from the film and original still photographs by Mosse.
Accolades
References
External links
- Beasts of No Nation on Netflix
- Beasts of No Nation on IMDb
- Beasts of No Nation at Rotten Tomatoes
- Beasts of No Nation at Metacritic
Source of article : Wikipedia
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