We finally got around to seeing Beasts of the Southern Wild and a wild adventure it is. Little Quvenzhané Wallis plays Hushpuppy, a 5-year-old girl living in what seems like a post-apocalyptic world. Later, we learn Hushpuppy, her mentally ill father Wink, and the other scavengers who live in ruined buildings are actually residents of the fringe of New Orleans called “The Bathtub.” Beasts of the Southern Wild, believe it or not, is Benh Zeitlin’s first feature film. It’s based on a screenplay and stage play by his collaborator, Lucy Alibar. Filmed in post-Katrina locations among the ravaged bayous of Louisiana, this movie will jar you with its energy and its unique vision. Beasts of the Southern Wild is a terrific movie! GRADE: A
Certainly one of my favorites of last year. It’s like Zeitlin never saw a movie before and invented his own way to tell a story.
Patti, you’re right about Zeitlin’s unique story-telling approach. I was caught up in the movie from the first frame!
Hushpuppy is a character you won’t soon forget. She is the man!
Jeff, what Hollywood director would entrust his movie to a 5-year-old character? Hushpuppy steals your heart.
Guess I’m the odd man/woman out here. I didn’t care for this film at all. Keep waiting for social services to come along and take Hushpuppy away. As long as she stayed in the Bathtub she was only looking at a future of poverty and ignorance. Her father was incompent to care for her.
You’re right, Steve. Hushpuppy’s father was a wreck. The story of how a little girl could survive in such deplorable conditions captured my interest.
Here in southeastern Louisiana, there’s a great deal if pride in Houma native Wallis (Lil Q, as she’s apparently known), but not much love for the movie which–as Steve notes–treats African Americans as some wild, exotic species and assumes that because Hushpuppy possesses folk wisdom she is not in need of the normal mental and physical health protections that would be accorded any child–in the bayous or in the city. I’m afraid I have to come down on that side of the argument–Wallis’s astonishing acting and adorable puppy purses during awards season notwithstanding.
/Stepping delicately down from the soapbox.
I watched BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD as if it was a science fiction movie, Deb. I know some people watched it as a documentary on life around New Orleans, but the incredible conditions Hushpuppy and her people were living in looked more like post-WWIII. And, I confess, was swept away by Quvenzhané Wallis’ terrific performance.
But Steve, that’s called noir.
I LOVED this one, George. I had to own the DVD/Blu-ray so I could get all the extras.
We loved BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, too, Beth! I may have to check out those “extras”!