Cary Fukunaga‘s harrowing “Beasts of No Nation” has gotten a lot of attention because of the horrific violence perpetrated by its central child soldier, played by newcomer Abraham Attah. But before the arrival of the brutal rebel commander played by Idris Elba, who trains the young soldier, the Netflix drama begins on a calmer note, as the resourceful character played by Attah tries to both play and survive in an environment wracked by war.
In this scene, which premieres exclusively on TheWrap, Attah’s character and a band of friends try to make money by selling a shell of a TV set to local soldiers. Their pitch: It may not actually work the way a television is supposed to work, but that makes it an “imagination TV.” They illustrate the concept by acting out various scenarios while a prospective buyer looks through the hole where a picture tube is supposed to be.
Fukunaga told TheWrap that he worked for 10 years to get “Beasts of No Nation” off the ground, part of the time spent trying to persuade studios of its viability and part of it waiting until he himself was ready to tackle the project.
“I think I realized how psychologically and physically difficult the film would be,” said Fukunaga, who made the film after finishing the acclaimed first season of “True Detective.” “I needed to get myself in the right head space.”
Watch the scene in the video above.