Beasts of No Nation, the Idris Elba drama about child soldiers in Africa, which had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, is the first feature film to be made by Netflix and has been released on the streaming service and in some cinemas. In the director Cary Fukunaga’s film, Elba peels open the layers of a charismatic monster with his depiction of the Commandant, the unstable leader of a ragtag band of loyal fighters. Abraham Attah plays the boy who has seen his home life wrecked and who is lured by the Commandant with the promise of revenge.
Fukunaga’s versatile camerawork is sensitive to the atmosphere of the piece. The disorientating assault of combat is captured with a nervy lens that jerks with each stray bullet, but there are moments of contemplation, too, when we pause to absorb the lush, otherworldly beauty of the jungle.
Cary Fukunaga, 15, 136 min