Beasts of No Nation Trailer (2015)

Trailer for Beasts of No Nation, which will be released to Netflix and select theaters.

When civil war tears his family apart, a young West African boy is forced to join a unit of mercenary fighters and transform into a child soldier.

Beasts of No Nation was shot over 35 days in Ghana. The cast included real former child soldiers.
Writer and director Cary Fukunaga caught Malaria while filming.

Fukunaga ended up having to use locals as extras in the movie because several actors were arrested on suspicion of being mercenaries.

Idris Elba played football with the child actors and gifted them iPods.

Beasts of No Nation is Netflix's first original film. It released the movie in theaters and via its streaming service at the same time. Because of this, some movie chains refused to carry the film, saying it violated the traditional 90-day exclusivity to theater's rule.

Netflix continues to expand its original programming schedule, now branching out into movies as well. They start with this, Beasts of No Nation, a hard, brutal movie looking at how children are taken from the streets and recruited as child soldiers.

Idris Elba is a force to be reckoned with and can seemingly turn his hand to any character. He is the total antithesis of himself here; cold, merciless, terrifying and cruel. His character is also arrogant, demanding and, though to me he seems completely evil, I am sure his character would believe he is doing these children a favor, dragging them away from a life of poverty.

The fact is though, children are being taught and forced to kill. In Beasts of No Nation, Agu, played here stunningly well by newcomer Abraham Attah, has witnessed his family being brutally murdered as victims of the civil war. Seizing on his vulnerability and a his child-like wish for some kind of revenge, the mercenaries train him in how to use weapons to intimidate, injure, and kill others.

This trailer is hard-hitting and doesn't shy away from the facts. These are children. Kids who should be running about, playing with friends, not using a machete or a rifle. The clear look of terror on these kids faces is enough to bring tears to my eyes.

However tough this trailer is to watch though, it is incredibly well shot and acted. Elba draws you in and thanks to Fukunaga's direction, you feel as if you're watching a documentary rather than a movie.