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Monday, December 10, 2012


Review of Beasts of the Southern Wild
by Christian Romero ‘13

The year 2012 has been filled with a myriad of box-office smashes and gargantuan Hollywood productions like The Hunger Games, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, and Breaking Dawn-Part 2. Granted, many of them have proved to be genuinely memorable and worthwhile films. But there are some films that miraculously manage to elude the public eye, arousing only the voracious appetites of film critics who have been waiting for unique independent films to be worthy of their praise. Recently, while perusing my On Demand “Just In” library, I noticed the standout title Beasts of the Southern Wild. I had heard of it before, for it had stirred a considerable amount of buzz at the Sundance Film Festival this past June, winning the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s greatest honor. Looking to see who starred in the film, I noticed an unforgettable name, Quvenzhané (Kwuh-Von-Je-Nay) Wallis. The film’s summary was incredibly brief, only mentioning that it chronicled the story of a young girl struggling to survive in a community on the outskirts of New Orleans. Had it not been for the ecstatic praise of the film and the assertion by my favorite film critic, Roger Ebert, that the movie was “One of the year’s best films,” I would have passed over the film without hesitation. But after watching the first eight minutes of the film, I realized that I had stumbled upon something special.
           Hush Puppy, the film’s protagonist, is a tenacious six year old girl who lives with her father, Wink, in the mysteriously enchanting community known as “The Bathtub.” The community has the outward appearance of a decrepit shantytown lying on the fringes of the Louisiana bayou, but it is a cohesive place held together by a group of interesting characters who enjoy the freedom of living on the fringes of society, able to go about partying and enjoying themselves as they please. In the beginning of the film, Hush Puppy’s “teacher,” Miss Bathsheba, tells her students that a storm is approaching, and when it comes, they better be prepared to take care of themselves. The fantastical element of the film enters with Miss Bathsheba gives an account of creatures that are supposedly trapped in the Antarctic ice caps known as “Aurochs.” They are gigantic boar-like creatures who terrorized and ate the cave men of yesteryear, and, according to Hush Puppy, “If it weren’t for the meteors and the Ice Age, I would have been breakfast.” When the storm does arrive, most residents of The Bathtub leave their idyllic playground and seek protection in the real world behind the levee walls. But Wink obstinately refuses to leave, instead turning his home into a fortress against the prevailing storm. In an attempt to quell the fears of Hush Puppy, Wink runs out into the middle of the storm with a shotgun, pretending to destroy the storm with a few blasts of his gun. Ultimately, the storm leaves The Bathtub underwater, forcing Hush Puppy and Wink to search the ruins for any survivors in their “boat,” which in reality is an overturned truck propelled forward by its engine and metal oars. It is this storm, and the three Aurochs that are released from the Antarctic ice caps due to the sheer force of the storm’s nature, that work to change little Hush Puppy’s life in unforeseeable ways.
            Divulging the entire film’s plot would not be enough to describe its joys and intricacies. It is one of those movies that can only be understood by experiencing it. I was taken aback by the sheer creative force behind the film and its insistence on being something wholly unique. First time director Benh Zeitlin, a graduate of the prestigious Wesleyan University, which has a distinguished film program, was able to wring a captivatingly magical “kingdom”  out of the Katrina ravaged lands surrounding New Orleans. His wise choice in casting unknown stars is one of the film’s greatest strengths. Dwight Henry, who plays Wink, is utterly convincing as a man struggling with a drinking problem, a short temper, and a blood disease. He owned the Buttermilk Drop Bakery & Café in New Orleans while the auditions were being held for the various characters, and, on a whim, auditioned and got the role of Wink. He experienced Hurricane Katrina firsthand in 2005, and the role fit him naturally, allowing him to perform it with utmost conviction. But the breakout star of the film, the little ball of sheer talent that serves as the nucleus of the film’s genius, is Quvenzhané Wallis. She is a natural actress; many child actors are not yet ready to break out into leading roles, requiring instead years of practice in minor supporting roles, but the role of Hush Puppy is completely fleshed out through Wallis. She embodies the character, and I highly doubt the film would have been anywhere near as powerful without her. Praise must also be given to the film’s production designer, Alex DiGerlando, who constructed the unforgettable community of “The Bathtub,” and the film’s composers, Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, who composed a score evoking the phantasmagorical essence of the film’s narrative core. Beasts of the Southern Wild tells a story not of beasts but of larger than life individuals who are completely independent of the modern technological innovations of nearby civilization and are free from the constraints of toil and work and adhering to schedules. This is the most original, audacious, stunningly beautiful, wonderfully magical, and lovingly wrought film of 2012, and it possesses a charm that many mainstream films lack. I wholeheartedly urge everyone to experience this film, for it showcases the ingenuity and originality of American art.

My rating: 4/4 Stars

This film has been rated PG-13 for thematic material including child imperilment, some disturbing images, language and brief sensuality.