Beasts Of No Nation (2015)

In West Africa, a small boy (Abraham Attah) and his family live in a village that is caught between warring factions. The government troops and the rebels. When government troops come and decimate his village and kill his father (Kobina Amissa-Sam) and older brother (Francis Weddey), the boy flees into the countryside. But he is captured by the rebels and turned into a child soldier. Perhaps I would have been more impressed with the film if I hadn't seen Kim Nguyen's stunning REBELLE, also known as WAR WITCH, which was an Oscar nominee in the 2012 Foreign Language film category. This film covers the same territory but it's more melodramatic and more "Hollywood" (Netflix was one of the production companies involved). At about the halfway mark (the film runs over two hours), the film had made its point. The horror of war and it's effect on innocent children especially those who are turned into child soldiers and taught to kill their own people. What could another hour do but give me more of the same so I ejected it from my DVD player (it was a SAG awards screener). If I missed out on a masterpiece, I'll survive but I did like what I saw of Idris Elba's performance. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga.