As a recent Variety report notes, the shoot for "Beasts Of No Nation" was no picnic. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga contracted malaria, extras were tossed into jail, and even Idris Elba had a brush with injuries. “Every day, it felt like we were on a sinking ship,” Fukunaga said. “I thought, this is going to be ‘Lost in La Mancha.’ We were shooting in rainy season. Sets were washing away.” But unlike Terry Gilliam’s film which was never completed and is forever rumored to be started again, Fukunaga got his in the can and it was worth it. Following rave reviews out of Venice (read ours) a new trailer for the movie has landed.
Based on the acclaimed novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala, the story follows the young Agu (Abraham Attah), who is taken under the wing of the brutal Commandant (Elba), a warlord who saves the young child’s life, and turns into him a soldier. It’s a picture that blew away our critic Jessica Kiang, who called the movie "one of the most beautiful films about ultimate ugliness ever" and "immersive and profoundly moving" in her review.
"Beasts Of No Nation" arrives on Netflix on October 16th.
