Beasts of No Nation

From director Cary Joji Fukunaga, and set in West Africa, Beasts of No Nation tells the story of AGU (Abraham Attah), a young villager, whom we meet playing with his older brother, making mischief with his friends at a nearby refugee camp and enjoying dinner with his family. But the happy routines of childhood are shattered when army troops from the capital city arrive to squelch a rebellion against the country’s corrupt regime. His mother and sister escape to a nearby city, but Agu is left behind with his father and brother, and shortly thereafter, he is suddenly on his own. Terrified and alone, Agu escapes to the forest where he’s discovered by a company of young rebels led by the charismatic COMMANDANT (Idris Elba). There he undergoes a gauntlet of harsh treatment, initiation rituals and fiery speeches from the Commandant, but also finds a kindred spirit in STRIKA (Emmanuel “King Kong” Nii Adom), a mute fellow recruit. As the ragtag army sets off on a series of battles, Agu is eventually promoted from ammo carrier to rifle-toting soldier. Beasts of No Nation follows Agu's journey and the loss of innocence, as he attempts to find the remains of a childhood that seem so out of reach.