UberTag
Member
It is indeed. I'm awfully tempted to watch it for the 2nd time so I can comment fresh along with the rest of you guys.
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Beasts of No Nation |OT| Netflix Original Movie - Now Streaming
- Thread starter GK86
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Ending monologue is so good.
Movie is too gruesome.
Ah, that was depressing.
Seeing this movie also reminds me how much in Metal Gear Solid V was wasted.
The ending was not even bad and yet it felt somewhat sinister. I was also sure until the end that the Commander would appear in the end and attack the shelter. I really liked how they showed all the rituals that were part of the indoctrination.
Seeing this movie also reminds me how much in Metal Gear Solid V was wasted.
Metal Gears depiction of child soldiers is both a wasted opportunity and racist as fuck. Every 'notable' African child soldier in the series is white. Well, then there's Drebin, who isn't of any real importance and is literally the magical negro trope.
lazybones18
Banned
I'll see the movie in a theater on Sunday
HalfBakedProphet
Member
Excellent, beautiful and unsettling.
The general public won't like it one bit
It was a pleasant surprise they mostly stuck with Agu, forcing the audience to see the wartorn world unfold through his eyes. Made the emotional moments more impactful
The general public won't like it one bit
It's really a damn shame.
I loved the scenes were you didn't see much, like
the hiding place in the shed or the bridge.
Pretty great movie in my opinion. Maybe it's because you don't see many of these western-made Africa movies actually based on African-written material, but I was surprised how much the first part characterized Agu's life and community. It gave the whole situation a lot more character than, say, the movie Blood Diamond.
What were you honestly expecting from Metal Gear? Honestly I was afraid Kojima would handle it much worse than that. From a Japanese perspective Kojima probably just jumped at the opportunity to display the Snake kids as child soldiers in this context, the whole "white kid among black soldiers" imagery going right over his head.
The monologue at the end was pretty rough too. Kid basically gave the audience the war vet talk, which you just don't see coming from a kid in cinema.
What were you honestly expecting from Metal Gear? Honestly I was afraid Kojima would handle it much worse than that. From a Japanese perspective Kojima probably just jumped at the opportunity to display the Snake kids as child soldiers in this context, the whole "white kid among black soldiers" imagery going right over his head.
The big theaters are throwing a hissy fit.
Fried Food
Banned
Man I'm gonna watch the S outta this this weekend from the comforts of my own living room. Good guy Netflix.
CheeseConey
Member
Was tough to watch. Probably the best acting i've seen from a child actor in a long time. Need some more time to think about this one.
Yeah, I feel like some plot threads were build up that never came into fruition.
What about the mother and what about the commander. A series would've been cool, you could start a bit earlier starting with showing the commander in more light from the outer perspective, make the viewer actually like him as someone who does hard things in difficult time and then unroll his egomanic personality.
UberTag
Member
Abraham Attah and Jacob Tremblay (who is generating Oscar buzz for his performance in Room) were both incredible.
Just goes to show what kind of great work you can get out of a young talent with the right material.
Both are easily on par with the last kid to get an Oscar nomination... Quvenzhané Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Honestly? A lot worse. I have no illusions about kojimas writing ability or maturity. Just look at quiet. That said, it doesn't mean his handling of child soldiers shouldn't be problematized, he's not above criticism just because I thought he'd handle it even more poorly than he actually did. I had low expectations from the beginning.
Moff
Member
Some more spoilerish points:
I probably have to correct my own statement above, I think the whole movie lacked momentum because many important parts felt rushed.
and all in all, the biggest problem: I don't think that it succeeded for even a single moment to convey the horror a child soldier must endure. it felt cold, like a documentary done by someone who doesn't give a fuck. only in the very last scenes in the UN camp were we able to get a glimpse of what was actually going on in agu's head.
which is also why I felt the whole abuse angle was out of place, not because I think it's unrealistic or anything, but because we didn't really get to see what effect this had on agu.
I couldn't help to remember lilya4ever, a film that masterfully makes you feel sick to your stomach when it confronts you with child abuse. nothing like that happened to me watching beasts of no nation, even though agu is abused in many more ways and confronted with unspeakable horrors. I didn't feel it. was I in the wrong mood? maybe I need to rewatch, but since this takes place in a fictional unnamed country I feel the movies purpose was supposed to make me feel upset, but it didn't.
and all in all, the biggest problem: I don't think that it succeeded for even a single moment to convey the horror a child soldier must endure. it felt cold, like a documentary done by someone who doesn't give a fuck. only in the very last scenes in the UN camp were we able to get a glimpse of what was actually going on in agu's head.
which is also why I felt the whole abuse angle was out of place, not because I think it's unrealistic or anything, but because we didn't really get to see what effect this had on agu.
I couldn't help to remember lilya4ever, a film that masterfully makes you feel sick to your stomach when it confronts you with child abuse. nothing like that happened to me watching beasts of no nation, even though agu is abused in many more ways and confronted with unspeakable horrors. I didn't feel it. was I in the wrong mood? maybe I need to rewatch, but since this takes place in a fictional unnamed country I feel the movies purpose was supposed to make me feel upset, but it didn't.
I hated him
because he was so perfect in portraying this patronizing egocentric asshole
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
I want to see this today but I don't want to go to work depressed after seeing it.
Well said, and I agree.
I'm kind of in the same boat, lol. Movie seems to be heavy and depressing and I don't want to go to bed after watching it. I'll probably watch it during a morning or afternoon this weekend.
Dirtyshubb
Member
Just finished watching it, a fantastic film that is probably one of the best I have seen in a long time. Agu's story was heartbreaking, and the actor's performance was amazing. Idris was wonderful as always, such a great actor.
Gonna be recommending this to everyone I know who has netflix.
Gonna be recommending this to everyone I know who has netflix.
Just finished watching it. In one word, it's harrowing. Marvelous acting and cinematography, and the score perfectly echoed
. Did Fukunaga outdo his True Detective tracking shot with the shot
? Possibly.
I also agree with those saying that something felt off. Perhaps it was the pacing, but I'm not entirely sure just yet. I'll have to think about this one a lot. At the end of the day, I enjoyed the experience, and the film had an effect on me, and I really appreciate the work that went into telling this story. I'd definitely recommend it.
Agu's descent into numbness
following Agu through the house, and ending with him shooting his "mother"
I also agree with those saying that something felt off. Perhaps it was the pacing, but I'm not entirely sure just yet. I'll have to think about this one a lot. At the end of the day, I enjoyed the experience, and the film had an effect on me, and I really appreciate the work that went into telling this story. I'd definitely recommend it.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
Finished watching it. Great movie. Strong stuff! Idris was great. It's funny to see people hyped to watch a movie that will likely get them down but it's good stuff. Entertaining watch. Pacing is definitely a bit off and it felt like it dragged at times but that took it from a high 9 to a low 9/10 for me.
EASTC0AST_GH05T
Member
It was a really good movie, I watched it earlier today. If you don't like too much gore this might not be for you.
TWrecks310
Banned
Movie was incredible, my only problem was that the pacing was a little iffy, other than that I loved it.
I feel emotionally effected by the movie.
I feel emotionally effected by the movie.
DanteGhost
Member
I just watched it. I don't think it's a great movie. It starts really strong, but by the end of the movie I should had felt more for Agu. I can't place the moment the movie lost me, but by the time they met the
I was done.
I also found extremely annoying the
guy. Yes we got it the first time he has a
, they didn't miss the chance to show him a couple of times, detracting from what was going on. The other kid
felt underdevloped. Did he had
. They missed the opportunity to explore his character more. The way Idris character ends is anticlimatic aswell.
It feels like a documentary instead of a movie, wouldn't see again. I recomment "The Last King of Scotland" instead, if you want to see a good movie set in Africa. Old but way better than this movie.
real commander
I also found extremely annoying the
Tripod
big penis
Striker
selective mutism from the trauma cause by the commander?
It feels like a documentary instead of a movie, wouldn't see again. I recomment "The Last King of Scotland" instead, if you want to see a good movie set in Africa. Old but way better than this movie.
Good movie, but not great. It's really hard to pinpoint exactly the factors which don't bring it to the top, but some other posters have summarized it quite well; certain (late-movie) parts lack any momentum or real impact, and the way some of the later parts unfold are underwhelming. Still, really glad to have seen it, masterful acting by Idris and the main kid. Would give it 7/10.
Discotheque
Banned
Great film, jesus christ it was draining though. But I think this might be my favorite war film since thin red line (and there were some good contenders too since then such as black hawk down and jarhead). have to think it over for a bit but I admire that it had the balls to go as far as it had to.
It felt like Apocalypse Now transplanted in Africa. Where Idris Elba played the Kurtz character in the sense that he initially seems like a larger than life cult god and then as the layers peel away you see the reality of how he's in so far over his head. that scene when Agu is on drugs is so stylistically unique as well, the color just turned into some trippy neon nightmare.
such a harrowing film, god damn were the two leads really good. I got choked up multiple times. and yeah that tracking shot was just too much. it's disgusting how normalized everything is to them at a certain point.
Cary Fukunaga is a monster. I can't believe he was the DP as well on this. He is an incredible talent. It was shot beautifully.
top 3 movie of the year so far for me. (though there's still a number of movies i gotta see in the next few months)
not even a question that this is the best thing ever produced under the netflix label. war machine should be a good film as well.
edit: after sin nombre and now this fukunaga is god-tier at depicting such problematic foreign situations. treats it with respect and leans more towards realism than lightening it up.
It felt like Apocalypse Now transplanted in Africa. Where Idris Elba played the Kurtz character in the sense that he initially seems like a larger than life cult god and then as the layers peel away you see the reality of how he's in so far over his head. that scene when Agu is on drugs is so stylistically unique as well, the color just turned into some trippy neon nightmare.
such a harrowing film, god damn were the two leads really good. I got choked up multiple times. and yeah that tracking shot was just too much. it's disgusting how normalized everything is to them at a certain point.
Cary Fukunaga is a monster. I can't believe he was the DP as well on this. He is an incredible talent. It was shot beautifully.
top 3 movie of the year so far for me. (though there's still a number of movies i gotta see in the next few months)
not even a question that this is the best thing ever produced under the netflix label. war machine should be a good film as well.
edit: after sin nombre and now this fukunaga is god-tier at depicting such problematic foreign situations. treats it with respect and leans more towards realism than lightening it up.
Scrupulous
Banned
I thought it was a great film but it seemed off that Agu's transformation into a beast happened so quickly buti guess thats down to the brown brown. I feel like near the end the film needed to do a better job at showing how much pressure these guys had on them from all sides after going rogue.
I think a lot of the things you say were missing was due to running time. It was over 2hrs as it is.
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