“Beasts of No Nation” is the first Netflix original feature film to be released by the company. The film is based off Uzodinma Iweala’s novel of the same name that follows a boy named Agu in an unnamed nation where he is forced to join a group of rebels and become a child soldier. It can be closely related to the subject of Kony in Uganda, where he led a rebel army and made children become soldiers. This film allows us to get a closer look at the devastating effects of war on an individual, but more specifically on a growing child.
“Beasts of No Nation” is a powerful and harrowing film that puts us into the perspective of a child soldier. It is a brutally honest movie that gives us further insight on a monstrosity that many people forget exists. From start to finish, the film shows the evolution of the protagonist, Agu, from his beginnings as a regular child with a family to a soldier fighting a war that can’t be won. Despite Agu being a part of a rebel army and fighting against the government that separated him from his family, the real war was his internal struggle.
There are many things on this planet that no one should witness or experience as an adult, so for a child to be presented with these very obstacles is disturbing. Agu slowly loses his innocence as a child as he is transformed into something lesser than a human being. A key moment in Agu’s transformation happens just before and after he is given a drug, which is followed by a sequence of discoloration and an exquisite long take in a house. Those scenes are some of the most memorable ones from the film because of the traumatic events that occur to give deeper characterization to Agu.
The effects of war on an adult are bad enough as it is, so portraying the effects on a child is even more striking. One of the more startling scenes in the film is when Agu is forced to kill someone for the first time. It is daunting to watch because it is something as humans we are not used to seeing or imagining. It is a cringe-worthy scene that you want to turn your head away from because you can’t believe what is about to happen, but at the same time you want to keep watching.
There are many heart-rending scenes in "Beasts of No Nation" that remind us what it means to be human and the film perfectly captures the acquiescent nature of a child. Seeing a child lose their innocence and make the transformation from human to beast is tough to swallow because no child should have to suffer the consequences of war. “Beasts of No Nation” will surely be nominated for some Oscars because it is ultimately a well-crafted work of art that is worth watching.
