Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Beasts of No Nation
2015
****
Director: Gary Fukunaga
Cast: Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Kurt Egyiawan, Jude Akuwudike, Emmanuel "King King" Nii Adom Quaye, Ama K. Abebrese, Kobina Amissa-Sam, Grace Nortey

As civil war rages somewhere in West Africa, Agu's family members go into exile or get killed, and the young boy himself is forced to join a rebel batallion led by the charismatic Commandant. Cary Fukunaga's gripping and unfliching drama about a child soldier who is robbed of his childhood was adapted from a novel by Uzodinma Iweala. Fukunaga's film doesn't hide any deeper meaning, he simply tells a harrowing straightforward story rarely seen in mainstream cinema. Idris Elba, the only familiar face in the cast, gives a very commanding performance as Commandant, but the 14-year-old Abraham Attah is the real star of the film. His transformation from an innocent child to a killer is quite extraordinary.