I do not think that there is anything new to add to the reviews that are already here. This film is brutally honest and so it is not an easy watch. Lets say it is not "Imagination TV" it is as real as the war in some parts of Africa is. The depiction is so true to real life that you will either dislike the film from the very beginning or you will be glued to the story of Agu. Like many who have seen this film, I too am surprised that the Oscars snubbed this gem of a film.

War drama used to exploits character to its core. By giving hard story imposed to its protagonist, the audience obliged to relates themselves by constant reminder that life is nothing but series of tragedy. Unfortunately, Beasts of no Nations are no different. Except that it offer darker tone than, -for example, City of God that also issued similar problem about child of war. Beasts of No Nations take a close look of child soldier in Africa that separated from their family in the midst of regional conflict. These child fueled by hatred, are easy pick to be trained into sudden soldier in field. They are ready to be shaped and not well adjusted to cope with trauma. This preference are proved by the scene where Commandant ordered Agu to kill a grown educated man, because he knows that the man no longer able to be manipulated and the best use of the man is only as living prove to maintain his total power.What its offer that has not yet I saw in another war drama, is the detail of soldier's inauguration, or particular rites of passage. The early shouts that made Agu stand still, yelling out his loyalty while at the same time retained his existence, are well illustrated. The rest of rites are apparent sacred, with many hint of fascism. Still, due to its based on novel from the same title, it bears portion of qualm that cannot be taken at face value. His development from child to a beast is remarkably started, not after his rites completion, but the first premature kill that defined his actual changes and shifting his moral ground. Agu's inner voice while he talk to himself by using God as instrument, is our checkpoint each time he deprived from child nature. We could see from the beginning that Agu's family is a typically moderate in term of religion which mark them as ideal family to begin with. They understand problem that lies around and acts accordingly, while still cares for others without doubt. They hold high regards of others, which placed them with better moral position from the rest. Such innocent family that deserve no place at this war. While this serves as prior motive for us to take more sentiment from the protagonist, this family-based narrative device are easily found everywhere else. The mother issue aren't resolved. It is compelling to say that the director tried to send us back to final tragedy that Agu had lost all hope of return to his old life. Yet, the final act that Agu started to make peace with himself are pretty straightforward and well closing the movie in proper manner, like the rest of its structure. Good, but not extraordinary.

Beasts of No Nation is a drama war film made in 2015 was about a small town in Western Africa, where a civil war broke out by military rebels, take control of the town, and kill the people of the town because they thought they were rebellion. A young boy, Agu played by Abraham Attah is escaping with his brother. When his brother is shot, and killed by the military. After running through the jungle, Agu, a good native boy, encounters Commandant, played by Idris Elba, a NDF or Native Defense Force who takes Agu under his wing to be a soldier in his militia. Agu is joined by another native boy, Strika played by Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye. And after a rough initiation, both boys join the militia. Commandant, not such a great guy, calls for Agu to go to his quarters, where he rapes Agu. Preacher, played by Teibu Owusu Acheampong, knows of what happened to Agu and gives Agu brown-brown, a mix of cocaine and gunpowder, smeared in a wound to "lift" his spirits. Agu and Strika are lead into many bloody ambushes and fights to take over towns by killing the people of villages that they come across. Commandant takes his battalion to the Supreme Commander of the NDF because Commandant thinks he's being promoted but only to find out that he is being demoted to a staff position and his Lieutenant is actually going to be in charge. Commandant decides to take his battalion to brothel to have fun but things go horribly wrong. One of the women shoot the Lieutenant by "accident". But Commandant doesn't believe the woman and has a shootout in the brothel, killing all the women and then running. The battalion is now running from their own militia, UN, and the government. They were fighting airstrikes and ambushes, Strika is killed during the ambush. The battalion now taking cover at a gold mine. Leaving them with no ammunition to be able to defend themselves, Preacher who now is the Lieutenant speaks up and says if they don't turn themselves into the UN will starve to death or be killed. Commandant doesn't want to do this but ends up letting them go after Agu speaks up. Shortly after they leave Commandant, they are captured by troops who take the young fighters to a missionary school. Agu not mingling with the other children and having nightmares from his ordeal, is reluctant to talk to his counselor because he is afraid his counselor will think he is a "beast" because of all the bad things he has done. Instead he decides to tell the counselor about his life as a good boy and how much his family loved him. After talking to the counselor, he found peace enough to mingle with the other children by going swimming. This film used lighting and music to bring out the strong feelings of this movie. The sound effects make this an action-packed film, that leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat

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.