Beasts of No Nation - Okay

Starring: Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Affadzi, Ricky Adelayitor
Runtime: 2 hours, 17 minutes 
Genre: Drama, War, Novel-Based
2015

I hate to say it, but I'm the one that added this to the last. I have no idea why. Maybe I heard things about it from other people, had to be from film twitter because I know none of my friends would have watched this. Beast of No Nation is based on the novel by Uzodinma Iweala. It's an extremely dramatic representation of the life experiences of a child soldier in Africa. Child soldiers don't get enough screen time on the news, it's a big problem that I feel needs more focus than some other things. 

Overall, this movie was what you would expect. Slow paced and dramatic. Not my type of movie, but it is definitely an interesting watch. It's one of those movies that you would assume is based on real events, but isn't. The life of Agu is a hard one. The things he had to do as a child, and the psychological impact it had on his as he grew into an adult were devastating. I can only imagine what happens to those poor children in real life. 

I liked the photography in this film and the portrayal of what it most likely would have been like during a civil war like the one Agu fought through. I thought Abraham did an excellent job in his role. 

Though this story was so sad, it was well put together for the screen. Kudos to Netflix on this one. Perhaps, if there is one, I'll watch a documentary on a similar topic to enhance my knowledge on this topic. I recommend if you love movies that are solely drama. Not my cup of tea - I give it an okay. 2/5. 

​Similar movies: Mudbound, Roma