Based on the experiences of Agu, a child fighting in the civil war of a West African country. Follows Agu's journey as he's forced to join a group of soldiers. While he fears his commander and many of the men around him, his fledgling childhood has been brutally shattered by the war raging through his country, and he is at first torn between conflicting revulsion and fascination.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.2/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.97/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Metacritic: 79
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Cary Joji Fukunaga
Production
Participant, Red Crown Productions, Levante Filmes, Mutressa Movies, Primary Productions, Parliament of Owls
Cast
Abraham Attah, Idris Elba, Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye, Opeyemi Fagbohungbe, Emmanuel Affadzi, Richard Pepple, Ama K. Abebrese, Kobina Amissah-Sam, John Arthur, Kurt Egyiawan, Jude Akuwudike, Ricky Adelayitor, Ernest Abbeyquaye, Nana Mensah, Andrew Adote, Francis Weddey, Fred Nii Amugi, Grace Nortey, Emmary Brown, Nataliah Andoh
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A harrowing, visually assured war drama that stands out for its child’s-eye perspective, strong performances, and uncompromising depiction of indoctrination and survival. It’s brutal and emotionally draining, but also one of the more memorable modern films about the human cost of civil war.
Best for
Viewers who want intense, serious war dramas
Fans of stories about child soldiers and lost innocence
People who appreciate striking cinematography and strong lead performances
Audiences comfortable with graphic violence and bleak subject matter
Skip if
You want an uplifting or cathartic war film
You’re sensitive to depictions of child abuse and battlefield violence
You prefer clear-cut moral storytelling or conventional battle narratives
You’re looking for a fast-paced action war movie
Overview
Beasts of No Nation is a brutal coming-of-age story set inside the machinery of war, and it never softens the damage it shows. Told through Agu’s eyes, the film captures how quickly childhood can be stripped away when violence becomes routine and authority becomes terror. The result is immersive, upsetting, and often beautiful in a way that makes the horror hit harder.
Worth noting
Cary Joji Fukunaga directs with unusual control, balancing lyrical imagery against the ugliness of the subject. Abraham Attah gives the film its emotional center, while Idris Elba is chilling as a commander whose charisma and cruelty are inseparable. The movie is less interested in battlefield strategy than in indoctrination, dependency, and the psychological corrosion of war.
Bottom line
It can feel emotionally punishing, and some viewers may wish for a broader political frame. Even so, its force comes from staying close to one child’s experience and refusing easy consolation. If you can handle the material, it’s a powerful and memorable watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Hamushy (4.5★) · 409 likes
African child soldiers, young boys who fight the causes of powerful men is the subject of this feature film from Cary Joji Fukunaga. Since it was released simultaneously on Netflix and in cinemas it has been boycotted by the largest theatre chains, but I am certain that the film will reach its audience anyway. Taking place in an unnamed war-torn African nation it centers around a young boy named, Agu, who is forced to join one of three warring factions… more African child soldiers, young boys who fight the causes of powerful men is the subject of this feature film from Cary Joji Fukunaga. Since it was released simultaneously on Netflix and in cinemas it has been boycotted by the largest theatre chains, but I am certain that the film will reach its audience anyway. Taking place in an unnamed war-torn African nation it centers around a young boy named, Agu, who is forced to join one of three warring factions… more
cinemasauron (3.5★) · 258 likes
I guess the only way Hollywood views Africa is as an entire continent ravaged by nothing but conflict & suffering and in a way, Beasts of No Nation is another exemplification of that. That's not to say that the film doesn't have any merit, for it is definitely a powerful, provocative & compelling piece of work but the entertainment industry's immoderate fascination with the civil war subject is still worth questioning.
Set in an unnamed West African country, the story concerns a… more
davidehrlich (3★) · 243 likes
more City of God than Apocalypse Now, stronger on leadership & indoctrination than madness of war (though a gruesomely sublime 15-minute sequence in the middle aces the latter). Elba and the kid are strong, and CJF certainly has the chops in several different categories, but he couldn't really break this story the way it needed to be broken.
(and Dan Rohmer's ambient M83 synths are way out of place)
Eli Hayes (4.5★) · 199 likes
"The only way not to be fighting anymore is to be dying."
One day, I aim to direct a doc called:The Synth Score Craze of '15.
(PS: I thought this was extraordinary; what a journey)
(PPS: isn't it kind of weird that Dan Romer composed the scores for both Beasts of No Nation and Beasts of the Southern Wild?)
(PPPS: CARY SHOT THIS HIMSELF!?!?!? what a colossal talent)
"Sun, why are you shining on this world?I am wanting… more
Kevflix And Chill (4★) · 127 likes
Brutal depiction of child soldiers, stripped of their innocence and thrust into a war without a clear objective. No delineation between good and evil. It’s fairly nuanced in that regard. Fukunaga’s direction and camera work are stellar creating some gorgeous and simultaneously haunting imagery. It’s one of the more harrowing films to experience and reminded me somewhat of Elem Klimov’s Come and See.
Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 21. Iris Elba and Ed Harris in Buffalo Soldiers2. Ed Harris and Kevin Bacon in Apollo 13
2012 · Documentary, History · 1h 57m · NR · Curator 9.8/10 (138.4K ratings)
Though documentary, it’s a major work on violence, power, and the psychology of perpetrators; included for thematic overlap only if documentary is acceptable.