#1091: FUKUNAGA, Cary Joji: Beasts Of No Nation (2015)

FUKUNAGA, Cary Joji (United States)

Beasts Of No Nation (2015)

Spine #1091
Blu-ray

The nightmare of war is seen through the eyes of one of its most tragic casualities -- a child soldier -- in this harrowing vision of innocence lost from Cary Joji Fukunaga. Based on the acclaimed novel by Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts of No Nation unfolds in an unnamed, civil-war-torn West African country, where the young Agu (Abraham Attah, in a haunting debut performance) witnesses carnage in his village before falling captive to a band of rebel soldiers led by a ruthless commander (an explosive Idris Elba), who molds the boy into a hardened killer. Fukunaga's relentlessly roving camera work and stunning visuals -- realism so intensely visceral it borders on the surreal -- immerse the viewer in a world of unimaginable horror without ever losing sight of the powerful human story at its center.

136 minutes
Color

5.1 Surround
2:39:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2021

Director/Writers

Based on the book by Uzodinma Iweala.

Cary Joji Fukunaga was 38 when he wrote and directed Beasts Of No Nation.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by film critic Robert Daniels.

Commentary

Featuring Fukunaga and first assistant director Jon Mallard.

Documentary

On the development and making of the film, featuring interviews with Fukunaga; author Iweala; actors Elba and Attah; and producers Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, and Riva Marker.

Conversation

Between Fukunaga and film and television producer and cultural commentator Franklin Leonard.

Interview

With costume designer Jenny Eagan.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
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