Adapted from Uzodinma Iweala’s 2005 novel about an African boy recruited to a rebel militia, this Oscar-tipped production gets a brief UK theatrical outing prior to its high-profile Netflix release on 16 October. Newcomer Abraham Attah is a revelation as Agu, the playful youngster forced into horrifying acts of war after his father and brother are killed. Following in the footsteps of 2009’s extraordinary Johnny Mad Dog and 2012’s Oscar-nominated War Witch, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s uncompromising film leads us through a cycle of violence in which childhood is buried and kids are traumatically reborn as child soldiers.
Idris Elba brings a terrifying charisma to the role of the Commandant, who tells his young charges: “I am your future!”, but nothing is as distressing as the look on Agu’s face as he learns to kill. Fukunaga’s self-shot widescreen cinematography and Dan Romer’s swirling score lend an epic sweep to the harrowing, heartbreaking narrative.
