An auspicious debut for Netflix Original Films
By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
The story of the child soldier is not one that the movies have been clamoring to tell. What could be gleaned from giving this insidious reality a narrative platform? The hardening of a young soul in this context is not something that can or should be observed casually, after all, and for many it's easier not to look at all.
That's why Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Beasts of No Nation" is such a special creation. It evokes the grim misery of war and the plight of these boys while making the experience of watching it almost poetic. It's not exploitative. It's not sentimental. It doesn't cheekily dare you to look (or look away). It is grounded horror shown artfully and purposefully.
Based on Uzodinma Iweala's novel of the same name, the film follows a boy, Agu (brilliant newcomer Abraham Attah), from a peaceful and youthfully mischievous life with his family in a West African village deep into his involvement with a group of militant rebels led by the mad, charismatic Commandant (Idris Elba).
In the village, Agu and his friends roam and play and hustle soldiers and townspeople. They're trying to sell a television frame without the screen. When the adults furrow their brows, Agu and the boys snap into performance mode, enacting film moments (Kung Fu! 3-D!) in the tiny frame. At home, Agu's older brother torments him, and Agu in turn torments his out-of-it grandfather. It's all quite ordinary — boys being boys and whatnot.
The immediate appeal of this introduction goes far in making the audience care when everything is stripped away so violently and suddenly. In a harrowing flash, Agu is orphaned, alone and scared when he comes across the rebels, whose colorful, handmade uniforms and decorated hats make them look like a radical sect of Peter Pan's Lost Boys. The Commandant takes to Agu and enlists him in his army.
Then they train, they fight, and Agu is reborn as ruthless soldier. But the specifics of the story are almost beside the point. Fukunaga, who wrote, directed and shot the movie, extracts emotion with his camera and Dan Romer's ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") powerful score more than the plot.
Fukunaga, who gained widespread attention for directing the first season of HBO's "True Detective," creates subtle milieus that linger in your mind long after the credits have rolled: A village burning in the distant night; a child in a pith helmet trudging coolly through a rusty orange trench, cigarette in hand; a hallucinatory assault that renders the surroundings pink and circuslike.
The beauty of Fukunaga's shots, however, are never just for beauty's sake. They lure you into the story and make you watch even as things get bleaker.
There are few more rousing scenes than when the Commandant rallies his soldiers to advance through a village and take a bridge. They chant and get riled up as though they're about to play a sport, before they walk, slowly, confidently and led by an unarmed Elba, and begin mowing down every civilian and soldier in sight.
The camerawork might be the flashiest accomplishment, but the performances also give the story power. Attah deserves much credit for his perfectly attuned portrayal of this boy's transformation, aided by an introspective voiceover narration that still sounds like a child's thoughts. The camera rarely leaves his viewpoint, and you wouldn't want it to. Elba, meanwhile, disappears into the Commandant whose evil is inextricably linked with his undeniable magnetism.
"Beasts of No Nation" is certainly a worthy debut for Netflix Original Films. The platform democratizes access to a great picture that might have only been available to the arthouse crowd a few years ago. Now, you just have to choose when and where.
On a big screen, Fukunaga's lyrical filmmaking is transfixing, but there is freedom in knowing that this necessary, demanding movie exists on your television. It is not an easy experience, but it's worth it. "Beasts of No Nation" is there and ready when you are.
"Beasts of No Nation," a Netflix/Bleecker Street Media release, is not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America but contains scenes of graphic violence. Running time: 133 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More