War films have never been as great as they were from the late-70s to the mid-80s. There was an esthetic richness to them, a vast sense of moral disorientation that defined them. Surfers catching waves neck deep in the shit, soldier’s squeezing the triggers of pistols squared at their heads, combatants throwing their arms up in defeat. That iconography sticks for a reason. In the era of 9/11, there have been some excellent war films, but like the wars themselves, the weapons, scenery and tone have changed. Beasts of No Nation is a heavyhearted throwback to the great war epics of the Vietnam generation and tells the sorrowful saga of a child soldier’s dark transformation.

Cary Fukunaga’s influences are obvious, much more so than they were with his first season of True Detective, but that doesn’t make his journey any less interesting. After all, that an Oakland kid found his way into making a child soldier epic in West Africa is unorthodox to say the least. And though the country at war with itself within his film is left unidentified, Fukunaga shoots in the diverse tapestries of Ghana with all its sandy infertility and verdant jungles. Once Fukunaga plants us in the thick of the Ghana jungle, we may as well be back in Nam.

Beasts of No Nation begins inauspiciously in a village on the brink of a civil war. Agu (Ghana native and non-actor Abraham Attah) and his friends hawk busted T.V. sets to the army men stationed on the village’s outskirts. Their school classes have been canceled in anticipation of the coming war in which they want no part. As the rebels and army approach, preempted by a cacophony of twisted metal and zipping bullets, a mass exodus has the women and children portion of Agu’s family fleeing for safety. When their transport refuses to take him aboard, Agu is left behind with his father and older brother. He is told, “You are a man now.” He can’t have even hit puberty.

Deathly circumstances lead Agu to be separated from his family and he soon finds himself in the arms of a charismatic Commandant (an excellent Idris Elba) leading a band of lost boys on a warpath. We bear witness to Agu’s transformation, from boy to man to monster, and Fukunaga proves he’s not one to shy away from the violence.

The violence of Beasts of No Nation can be overwhelming at times; innocent people are slaughtered like cattle, villages are ransacked. To be more precise, children are beaten to death, mothers are raped. But the violence serves a purpose. In the story, there is a clear intention to impart a moral lesson on escalation. At first, Agu’s violence is directed pointedly. “These are the men that killed your family.” It’s easier to hammer the trigger when vengeance is on the line. Things get murkier when you’re asked to gun down a village, no holds barred. We see the transformations, the small bargains Agu makes with himself, and it’s simply horrid to observe.

The cinematography, also by Fukunaga, is often excellent, giving some otherworldly mysticism to some scenes and a real-world freak show element to others. The score from Dan Romer is similarly ethereal. Long sustained notes ring out over the caw of gunfire. That something this beauty could exist in the living hell that is this war zone is jarring. Fukunaga exploits it well.

As a snake oil salesman-cum-devil in army fatigues, Elba is fantastic. His character does not follow the traditional Captain Kurtz arc (although there are some elements of that character here) and in his darkest side we find notes of shame and anguish. Elba handles it all masterfully. Puka shell necklaces have never been so imposing.

So too is young Attah a potent performer. Fukunaga insisted that the part of Agu be played by a non-actor and it’s borderline amazing that he got someone with as much raw talent as Attah, going the non-professional route. There’s so much unfiltered grief, such convincing heartache bleeding from his character. Your heart will break for Agu over and over again.

There’s no doubt that Beasts of No Nation will prove challenging viewing for most and enters into a league of accomplished dramas that will likely turn many off by its distressing nature, but it is no less an achievement. Poignant, upsetting and beautifully filmed, it is one of the great war films of the 2010s and you should gear it up for your Netflix bingeing right about now.

CONCLUSION: Disturbing and potent, ‘Beasts of No Nation’ benefits from Cary Fukunaga’s tasteful eye and nasty script. Likewise Idris Elba gives an electric performance as the Commandant of a squadron of child soldiers.