Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Best movie of this year hands down!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

It took me six years to finally watch this movie, and I wish I had seen it when it was recommended to me five years ago. It seems clear from the reviews hear that there are two kinds of people. The empathetic, thoughtful viewers who enjoy the powerful spirit hush puppy exhibits despite her difficult, actually incredibly harsh surroundings. Then there are the impatient, judgmental viewers who just can't grasp the realities of the extremely downtrodden. This is a movie of fantasy, and a very good one!

I watched The Beasts of the Southern Wild with my wife, and if she hadn't been with me, I would have walked out. While the acting and cinematography are pretty good, the story – if there is a story – was frankly, rubbish. I know my lack of understanding was partly due to my extreme difficulty in understanding a young girl speaking in a squeaky voice with a broad Louisiana dialect, but even if I had understood every single word, I doubt whether my opinion would have changed very much.The movie drifts from reality to fantasy at the drop of hat, and for the most part, I have no idea which was which – as even the reality was more or less a fantasy. I confess I knew next to nothing about this movie before I sat down to watch it, which is unusual for me, as normally I like to research a film's subject matter ahead of viewing. So I admit this did not help my enjoyment - as the film was unremittingly grim and depressing -I think! I don't believe there was a single second of humour in its entire length. To make matters worse, I now find that all the major film critics unanimously have raved about this film, giving it their top star rating and generally drooling over every unfathomable aspect of it.I was beginning to think that either I had lost it, or that I watched the wrong movie, when I happened to chance upon a piece by Vince Mancini entitled, 'The Case against Beasts of the Southern Wild'.Phew! Thank God I'm not the only one out here in movie audience-land that thinks that the movie was basically a load of old rubbish.Here are a few choice snippets from Mr Mancini's lengthy and erudite piece."As a critic….. making sure the films you champion are worthy, to keep from burning your audience and becoming the boy who 'cried wolf', making film critics even more irrelevant than we already are…""… Beasts of the Southern Wild is a critic-bait film …""….this tale of deep south swamp hobos and feral children that eat cat food has all the depth of one of those Levis slam poetry commercials. I thought we weren't supposed to fall for the Magic Negro and the Noble Savage any more Yet here it is, a whole movie full of them, plus folksy Cajuns who can't open their mouths without homespun crypticisms aw shucksing their way out….""… it's more like someone using poetry to obfuscate a story that wouldn't work as prose, because there just isn't much there. A lot of swamp-jazz hocus pocus and gumbo mumbo jumbo, so to speak…"There is much, much more, but I would imagine that the above is sufficient for you to get the general idea. There is a movie-God out there somewhere. I am not alone in wanting my movies to make some kind of sense, or in some way uplift me, excite me, shock me, amuse me, titillate me or provoke me. This movie did nothing except puzzle me.

This is perhaps the best film that I have seen since the turn of the millennium. In fact it's hard to believe that the characters in it really are actors, that's how magically real it is. Still, it also appears as surreal. The simple universe of the Bath Tub, with the struggle to survive and the fight against being evacuated by the officials on one side, and a young girl's thoughts and dreams about the universe and seeing her mama on the other side, is brilliantly mixed in to an epic creation perhaps beyond any film I have ever seen. Only 'Underground' and 'Brazil' is matching this. The acting is superb and it's very hard not to believe that the characters are from real life, something very rare these days. Above all actors are Quvenzhané Wallis in the main role and Dwight Henry as her dying dad. Evereyone and everything else is also simply terrific, all the way from directing to photography, screenplay, casting, makeup, editing and special effects to costume design, set decoration and everyone in the art department. I have to mention them all, because they all deserve top credits. It's hard to understand that this film didn't get any of the Oscars it got nominated to. The cast and crew certainly deserve all the awards and nominations they got. If the rating could go to 11 or 12, I would have given it another star or two. I will see this film again.

and it became the youngest Academy Award nominee for her marvelous performance here. Thumbs up for Quvenzhané Wallis in Benh Zeitlin's first feature film. This was one of the big winners once the nominations were announced. Apart from Wallis and a screenplay nod, the film also managed to get in for Best Picture and Zeitlin as director over notable competition from Bigelow, Nolan, Affleck and Hooper. To me the film almost felt like a documentary about the little girl's life and interactions with people, mostly her father, played competently by Dwight Henry. Maybe this was also as Hushpuppy did not speak much in the film itself, but narrated it. These people are maybe the most interesting thing about the film. They have their very own mentality, unique ways of life and survival constantly battling dangerous water. The early firework scene with Hushpuppy running is one of the most memorable shots.Another thing I found interesting was the way how these people interacted with nature, with water of course, but also with plants and animals. The film's audio effects are nothing short of great from start to finish: ringing bells, sparkling fire, wild water and many more. As I witnessed a flood not too long ago, this film also had a bit of a different impact than the first time I watched it. The relationship between Hushpuppy and her father is pretty memorable. Even if he is rough, slaps her at one point (well, she burnt down the house) and scares her at another, he is a loving father who only wants the best for his daughter. He is very rough, but also very caring. I remember one scene where he tells her that she will be the king of the Bathtub one day. Pay attention how he does not say queen. He really isn't about her being a playful little girl, but more a practical human being. Her hair fits that characterization nicely too. When they are at the hospital later on, she looks like a girl, but obviously she won't act like one.After the introduction to Hushpuppy's world, the film is basically all about the fights of the people. But at the same time, it is also about how the strength of their community helps them to cope with these issues. One fight is against the water. One is against those who want them to go away. And the last one is against sickness. And even if this one is lost, the ending is very hopeful and uplifting after the truly sad farewell scene thanks to Hushpuppy's final words and the music when the closing credits roll in. It's also interesting that there is really no bad people in this movie, only people who act like they are supposed to or in order to have what (they think) is best for them, even the hospital employees who mostly want to help, even if the group around Hushpuppy doesn't really see it and refuses their help, especially Hushpuppy's dad. I also really liked the song that played when little Hushpuppy was dancing with the waitress. The lyrics fit their dialog perfectly."Beasts of the Sounthern Wild" is a good film with more strengths than weaknesses and lots of interesting metaphors (the auroxen in particular) and I recommend watching it.