B

Flawless in every way. A master class in the nature of unconditional love, the power of art, the nature of political control, and the man’s capacity to change.

A haunting and awe inspiring meditation on the horrors of child soldiery in subsaharan Africa, this film contrasts the dreamlike nature of childhood with the nightmarish injunctions of a confusing war. Indris Elba is absolutely phenomenal as the Commandant, a leader of a group of rag-tag freedom fighters whose morals go out the window by the whims of his maniacal search for glory. Abraham Attah plays Agu, a young boy whose family is massacred and who retreats to “the bush” for survival- soon he is picked up by the Commandant and his band of NFC guerrilla warriors. They strip him of his boyhood and replace it with an obedient nihilism so deep that one is truly affected by the scenes of transitions as he murders and uses drugs. What will life be like after the war when the commandant’s existence is tied to the glory of looting and annihilation? As a study of child soldiers universally and the political complexities of war in general, this is a masterclass in filmmaking. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is once again (True Detective, season 1) hitting home runs with brilliant cinematography and editing choices. The soundtrack by Dan Romer is exceptional ambient scorin. The whole film reminds me of the Pulitzer Prize winning photography of Carolyn Cole in Monrovia, depicting something that, even when explicitly rendered with sincere artistry, is unimaginable. I await to see what Abraham Attah has in his future as he is a great actor, especially for his age.