A child being forced to chop a man’s head with a machete, ritualistic beatings, children being taught how to fire weapons, and drugs being the answer for rape. Beasts of No Nation is a Netflix Original Film, which shows all of this while they follow a boy, Agu, during his time of being a child soldier in a West African country. This drama movie earns 4.5/5 stars.

The movie follows Agu during the time right before he is taken into being a child soldier by a rebel group, and then transitions into the challenges he faces as being a boy fighting for his life around men. The cinematography of the film is fantastic with beautiful and accurate images of the forested West African setting. The costumes and the action scenes are all very realistic and the constant action and fighting keeps viewers’ eyes glued to the screen as they witness Agu’s journey.

The movie is very realistic and paints a powerful image of the tragedies of war, more specifically the use of child soldiers. Thousands of kids around the world are being forced or dragged into conflicts that take away all the enjoyments and rights of kids at this very moment. This movie exposes this fact through the atrocities that Agu is forced to commit and witness. Some scenes can be very graphic or emotionally tough to watch, but it gets the movie’s point across.

The movie is drawn out a little too long in that it adds extra scenes or fights that are not necessarily needed to move the movie further. Watching it towards the end, viewers can get a little tired of the same issues coming up.

However, this movie is a strong representation of the cruelties that people face all around the world. It is a great watch and an even better learning experience.