On BEASTS OF NO NATION.

So a certain book written for screenplay adapted from a book was adapted into a movie a while back. Needless to say, like most people who had read the book frenzy to actually see how it turns out on the screen caught everyone…me especially!

Unfortunately, big bummer compared to what id read. You see coming from almost the eastern part of Nigeria and having family much older than you, you just cant escape tales of what happened during the Biafra war. Like most hand me down tales best imagined, you just want to capture the essence of what it probably felt like, God forbidding the actual experience!

I lost my paternal grand mum to that war, not from a bullet but worry. Somehow my dad and her lost contact and in the worry of where her beloved son was and if he was safe, she died…guess who walks in a couple of days later?

That’s a story for another day i guess…

So last night i got my paws on a copy of ‘Beasts of no Nation’ and like any movie i really want to watch certain conditions must remain prevalent
1. Cinema ko cinema ni, really hate distractions and for the ‘Minions’ movie that might work but for a real movie? Think i’ll just chill till i can watch it alone.
2. It just has to be in the middle of the night. Quiet, peaceful again no distractions!
3. Clear HD copy or fogerrit!
4. Thank you LG at least i can also watch good movies in a good way (whats the big deal about Harman Kardon sef?…me not being rich enough asides?)

…so last night i watched this movie with stellar performances that left me speechless! Idris Elba God knows i never really ‘sent’ the guy (besides the obvious hearing of chicks going on about how cool he is blah blah and the money hes making…whats he got that i don’t? — Good grounds to beef the guy like seriously!) Last night i found myself reminding myself several times that this was Idris i was watching!
Not just a reminder of the ‘beef’ i have for the guy, but the role he played in the movie.
In not so many words that guy nailed the part to a ‘T’.

…then comes the real star of the movie Abraham Attah…Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor in Venice last year! Dude, an honor very well deserved i tell you. For a 14 year old who just had his first stint in front of the camera, i say it again and again because of you i will now risk trying Ghanaian jollof rice!
His role as ‘Agu’ in the movie was something else (hope he got paid more than idris, obvious reasons aside!).

Strika (without one word uttered throughout the movie) and the rest of the NDF crew, like when Agu first met commander to all of you i say ‘Yes sir’…’Yes sir’…’Yes sir’…one more time! ‘Yes sir’ for an excellent delivery!

Rarely do i get to see a movie that actually accept it hits the right notes and expresses the true message & emotions…

Putting it simply, Beasts of no Nation delivers every single thing (&more) the other screen adaptation of a movie failed to provide with far less ‘Star power’ ensemble, Wikipedia does not even have links to most of the cast!…and yes im definitely watching this again.

…seriously you should too.

Uzodinma Iweala Thank you for capturing the details…bringing this to life.

Cary Joji Fukunaga excellent cinematography and directing…giving this a life!

So i began the usual ritual of finding out everything i could about the movie following on all available social media platforms like some teenager who just found a new pop singer to crush on. One fan actually asked if Agu eventually found his mother! Was tempted to reach to her and say it was all a figment of someones imagination…but then i thought to myself why spoil the connection for her?

That my good friends is the power of a good script with excellent delivery!