Based on the best selling book by Uzodinma Iweala and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation is a film responsible for one of my favourite trailers of 2015.

Starring Idris Elba and Abraham Attah, the movie tells the story of a young boy called Agu, his experiences from being a smart, imaginative and relatively happy child in an unnamed African country, to a child soldier fighting in a brutal civil war.

Both of the main actors deliver impressive performances in Fukunaga’s movie. As a first time actor, newcomer Attah does a great job of portraying a child’s emotional journey from a life of relative ease to all that he was forced to become in order to survive. It’s no surprise that young Attah has been nominated for and already won a number of notable awards.

It goes without saying that Beasts Of No Nation won’t be the easiest movie to sit through. But it’s worth it for the story and movie making artistry. There’ll be no finding yourself ‘wanting for memorable scenes’ because you’ll find beautifully scored, choreographed and captured moments. The ‘take the bridge’ sequence being just one.

The fact that  plenty of us will probably only ever have to experience most of the unfortunate things that happen in Agu’s story from the other side of a screen will leave you grateful. Perhaps even more grateful for those who happen to be closer to the story than most.

I’m now going to watch the Beasts Of No Nation trailer  again – just one more time (for today). I just love it that much. After a while it’ll be time for another viewing of the movie because you know, I probably missed something subtle yet important the first time round.

Happy Film Loving 🙂

G