Beasts of the Southern Wild
(B or 3/4 stars)
At the heart of 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' (directed by newcomer Behn Zeitlin) is a 2-character study. 6 yr. old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) lives with her eccentric father, Wink (Dwight Henry), in a rural, isolated patch of Louisiana called "the Bathtub"; a below-sea-level marshland that is separated from the rest of the Louisiana bayou by a huge levee. They live in poverty: each has a make-shift shack filled with memorabilia & trash accumulated over the years. Wink & Hushpuppy have a unique father-daughter relationship. There is love. But Wink is ill-suited to be raising a daughter on his own, as his wife ran out on them & he has no choice. The lesson he tries to impart to Hushpuppy is self-sufficiency and, in teaching this, he can be quite harsh.
Other inhabitants of "Bathtub" are just like Wink in their animosity against those who interfere with their way of life. And as Hushpuppy tells us, the people of the Bathtub have more holidays than the rest of the world. They relish drinking, dancing, setting off fireworks, & drinking (get the picture?). One of Hushpuppy's loves in life are animals; everything from crabs to lobsters to catfish - even listening for their heartbeats. In the far north, the glaciers are melting. And at school, Hushpuppy's teacher talks about aurochs, enormous wild boars that once terrorized the planet. Hushpuppy imagines the beasts breaking from their ice encasements & charging south across North America for the Gulf Coast. Her teacher warns the class of what will happen with climate change: "Y'all better learn to survive."
With that, a hurricane hits "Bathtub", but Hushpuppy & her father disobey orders to evacuate, "Daddy says brave men don't run from their place." They tough out in the storm & the little girl proves her courage to the rest of the community. Eventually, Wink, Hushpuppy & other survivors of the flooding are taken to nearby shelters. Wink discovers something about himself that could change Hushpuppy's future. And this makes him all the more determined to toughen up Hushpuppy, even if it means being rough on her. But the tenacious little girl takes it all in & bounces back, "When you're small, you gotta fix what you can."
Through all of this, Hushpuppy misses her mom who "swam away" yrs. ago but visits her dreams. She talks to her during bad times. Once when she asks her dad what her mama was like, he responds: "Your mother was so pretty that when she walked into a room all the water started to boil." With several other motherless children, Hushpuppy makes a pilgrimage to a nearby island & a fancy Girls Girls Girls whorehouse. There she connects emotionally with a beautiful woman who ... could have been her mother. This entire sequence had me in a trance.
In a climactic encounter, Hushpuppy must confront - in her mind's eye - the Beasts of the Southern Wild (those prehistoric aurochs). When they arrive, she faces them with strength & even befriends them. This courageous & tender action shows her fearlessness in the face of whatever she may face in her life. Hushpuppy has a remarkable awareness of the world around her & her mystic ability to embrace it with fearlessness is something to behold. "When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces. I see that I'm a little piece of a big universe, and that makes things right." Young Quvenzhane Wallis gives a wonderfully natural performance as Hushpuppy. And equally credible/authentic/raw is Dwight Henry (a baker in real life!) as her daddy, Wink.
'Beasts ...' contains magical moments that emphasize the relationship that exists btwn. fathers & daughters who are in horrific situations. By presenting things from the 6 yr. old's perspective, the director portrays Wink alternatively as a figure of anger, as well as a protector. The emotional honesty of these sequences is great. The inclusion of the beasts (aurochs) are allegorical. These beasts are meant to show how Hushpuppy can ultimately look the in their eyes & face her fears in the face of adversity. BUT, I think their inclusion is a tad distracting & not necessary within the story. When the film ended, I didn't quite know what to think of its themes/allegories. They felt nebulous in the end. One other issue: this is one of those moves with shaky handheld camerawork. WHY must it be employed ... ever?
Now, from a technical standpoint, the film is stellar: nice direction, original writing, good editing, unforced character portrayals, memorable scenes, intriguing art direction (the deplorable "Bathtub"), crisp sound design, the special effects (aurochs), Dan Romer's atmospheric musical score, etc.. Again, I just wish that this unique film stuck to complete realism or to being an allegorical fable, and not trying to blend both. By doing so, I wasn't always sure what the film wanted me to think or feel. All that said, 'Beasts ...' provides us a fascinating glimpse into a culture that we have never imagined in our dreams. And it does a great job painting a portrait of Hushpuppy's fragile understanding of the world; a place where nothing lasts forever. That makes 'Beasts ...' a triumph even when it stumbles.
Other inhabitants of "Bathtub" are just like Wink in their animosity against those who interfere with their way of life. And as Hushpuppy tells us, the people of the Bathtub have more holidays than the rest of the world. They relish drinking, dancing, setting off fireworks, & drinking (get the picture?). One of Hushpuppy's loves in life are animals; everything from crabs to lobsters to catfish - even listening for their heartbeats. In the far north, the glaciers are melting. And at school, Hushpuppy's teacher talks about aurochs, enormous wild boars that once terrorized the planet. Hushpuppy imagines the beasts breaking from their ice encasements & charging south across North America for the Gulf Coast. Her teacher warns the class of what will happen with climate change: "Y'all better learn to survive."
With that, a hurricane hits "Bathtub", but Hushpuppy & her father disobey orders to evacuate, "Daddy says brave men don't run from their place." They tough out in the storm & the little girl proves her courage to the rest of the community. Eventually, Wink, Hushpuppy & other survivors of the flooding are taken to nearby shelters. Wink discovers something about himself that could change Hushpuppy's future. And this makes him all the more determined to toughen up Hushpuppy, even if it means being rough on her. But the tenacious little girl takes it all in & bounces back, "When you're small, you gotta fix what you can."
Through all of this, Hushpuppy misses her mom who "swam away" yrs. ago but visits her dreams. She talks to her during bad times. Once when she asks her dad what her mama was like, he responds: "Your mother was so pretty that when she walked into a room all the water started to boil." With several other motherless children, Hushpuppy makes a pilgrimage to a nearby island & a fancy Girls Girls Girls whorehouse. There she connects emotionally with a beautiful woman who ... could have been her mother. This entire sequence had me in a trance.
In a climactic encounter, Hushpuppy must confront - in her mind's eye - the Beasts of the Southern Wild (those prehistoric aurochs). When they arrive, she faces them with strength & even befriends them. This courageous & tender action shows her fearlessness in the face of whatever she may face in her life. Hushpuppy has a remarkable awareness of the world around her & her mystic ability to embrace it with fearlessness is something to behold. "When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces. I see that I'm a little piece of a big universe, and that makes things right." Young Quvenzhane Wallis gives a wonderfully natural performance as Hushpuppy. And equally credible/authentic/raw is Dwight Henry (a baker in real life!) as her daddy, Wink.
'Beasts ...' contains magical moments that emphasize the relationship that exists btwn. fathers & daughters who are in horrific situations. By presenting things from the 6 yr. old's perspective, the director portrays Wink alternatively as a figure of anger, as well as a protector. The emotional honesty of these sequences is great. The inclusion of the beasts (aurochs) are allegorical. These beasts are meant to show how Hushpuppy can ultimately look the in their eyes & face her fears in the face of adversity. BUT, I think their inclusion is a tad distracting & not necessary within the story. When the film ended, I didn't quite know what to think of its themes/allegories. They felt nebulous in the end. One other issue: this is one of those moves with shaky handheld camerawork. WHY must it be employed ... ever?
Now, from a technical standpoint, the film is stellar: nice direction, original writing, good editing, unforced character portrayals, memorable scenes, intriguing art direction (the deplorable "Bathtub"), crisp sound design, the special effects (aurochs), Dan Romer's atmospheric musical score, etc.. Again, I just wish that this unique film stuck to complete realism or to being an allegorical fable, and not trying to blend both. By doing so, I wasn't always sure what the film wanted me to think or feel. All that said, 'Beasts ...' provides us a fascinating glimpse into a culture that we have never imagined in our dreams. And it does a great job painting a portrait of Hushpuppy's fragile understanding of the world; a place where nothing lasts forever. That makes 'Beasts ...' a triumph even when it stumbles.