Jason KingBEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD: A Review
August 29th 2012 08:45
:
Just Superb - cinematic poetry
Just WoW - this film is a superb piece of cinematic poetry that is so real and believable I assumed it was a documentary but the filming was too good for it to be a docco and the acting was too good for it to be anything else. The defrosting prehistoric creatures gave it away though 
In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, six year-old Hushpuppy exists on the brink of orphan hood. Her mother long gone, and her beloved father Wink a wild man on a perpetual spree, Hushpuppy is left to her own devices on an isolated compound filled with semi-feral animals. She perceives the natural world to be a fragile web of living, breathing, squirting things, in which the entire universe depends on everything fitting together just right. So when a hundred year storm raises the waters around her town, her daddy is suddenly stricken with illness, and fierce pre-historic creatures awaken from their frozen graves to come charging across the planet, Hushpuppy sees the natural order of everything she holds dear collapsing around her. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive an unstoppable catastrophe of epic proportions and the inner demon of believing that maybe it is all her fault.
This film is a more real version of Where the Wild Things Are without all the monsters. It is one of the most heartfelt films acted on-screen this year and the acting is out of this world superb. Quvenzhane Wallis, the cutest little mini Macy Gray you will ever see, is only 5yrs old. She was chosen for the role, even though casting was only interested in girls between 6 and 9yrs old, because film-makers were so impressed with her reading ability, a tremendous scream and her ability to burp on command. This girl is the pinnacle of cuteness and tween emotional turmoil in a world none of us would ever consider liveable. Her entire universe most of us would consider a dump yard unfit for animals to live in.
The film has a definite New Orleans feel to it in post Katrina devastation and highlights what these isolated people must have gone through, it is tremendous what the will of the people can do and their desire and attachments to their roots is paramount. It is their comfort zone and I can imagine what would happen if people tore me away from my comfort zone - heaven help them.
One of the most astounding things is how you fall head over heals in love with this little girl, Hush Puppy, not to save her from where she is but to make sure her life is ok - her father Wink (played just as superbly by Dwight Henry) is an absolute mess of a man, suffering from alcoholism and a devastating life disease and half the time you hate him and half the time you feel sorry for him but this is her father and she loves him and he loves her and this is his greatest struggle because he knows it but his lifestyle is to be messed up all the time - the two of them cannot go together successfully.
Seeing the film from little Hush Puppy's perspective certainly puts a more interesting spin on reality. How kids make sense of things with the knowledge they have is impressive and Hush Puppy more so than most.
The acting is out of this world, as I have already mentioned so good, it could have been a docco, but the thing that blows my mind. Dwight Henry is no actor, he is the baker from across the road from the film-maker's studio! He read during a quiet lunch hour and they wanted no one else, it was Wink. It is evident as to why - he is real, he lived through Katrina and the man knows the area and the emotion to live this character - this is award winning acting people but he will never see an Oscar - he is no Hollywood actor. I haven't seen an on-screen duo like this since The Piano.
Director Benh Zeitlin is a genius - this amazing feat of filming was made for $1.2MIL - less than the accommodation costs of most Hollywood actors when on set. This is also his first feature film and the guy looks incredibly young. I cannot fathom how he made this film and for this I just bow to him. He created a universe that is both dangerous and fragile and utterly stunning. The cinematography is enough to get you in the cinema for this film, it is a work of art, regularly highlighting the explosive cuteness of Hush Puppy (seriously what a cool name is that!! Haha).
I cannot fault the film, it is extraordinary and is out on SEPT 13th. It has already won abundant awards, put it on the calendars people so you don't miss this gem of wonder. Worth a pretty 10 out of 10 rampaging defrosted pig like bulls.
In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, six year-old Hushpuppy exists on the brink of orphan hood. Her mother long gone, and her beloved father Wink a wild man on a perpetual spree, Hushpuppy is left to her own devices on an isolated compound filled with semi-feral animals. She perceives the natural world to be a fragile web of living, breathing, squirting things, in which the entire universe depends on everything fitting together just right. So when a hundred year storm raises the waters around her town, her daddy is suddenly stricken with illness, and fierce pre-historic creatures awaken from their frozen graves to come charging across the planet, Hushpuppy sees the natural order of everything she holds dear collapsing around her. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive an unstoppable catastrophe of epic proportions and the inner demon of believing that maybe it is all her fault.
This film is a more real version of Where the Wild Things Are without all the monsters. It is one of the most heartfelt films acted on-screen this year and the acting is out of this world superb. Quvenzhane Wallis, the cutest little mini Macy Gray you will ever see, is only 5yrs old. She was chosen for the role, even though casting was only interested in girls between 6 and 9yrs old, because film-makers were so impressed with her reading ability, a tremendous scream and her ability to burp on command. This girl is the pinnacle of cuteness and tween emotional turmoil in a world none of us would ever consider liveable. Her entire universe most of us would consider a dump yard unfit for animals to live in.
The film has a definite New Orleans feel to it in post Katrina devastation and highlights what these isolated people must have gone through, it is tremendous what the will of the people can do and their desire and attachments to their roots is paramount. It is their comfort zone and I can imagine what would happen if people tore me away from my comfort zone - heaven help them.
One of the most astounding things is how you fall head over heals in love with this little girl, Hush Puppy, not to save her from where she is but to make sure her life is ok - her father Wink (played just as superbly by Dwight Henry) is an absolute mess of a man, suffering from alcoholism and a devastating life disease and half the time you hate him and half the time you feel sorry for him but this is her father and she loves him and he loves her and this is his greatest struggle because he knows it but his lifestyle is to be messed up all the time - the two of them cannot go together successfully.
Seeing the film from little Hush Puppy's perspective certainly puts a more interesting spin on reality. How kids make sense of things with the knowledge they have is impressive and Hush Puppy more so than most.
The acting is out of this world, as I have already mentioned so good, it could have been a docco, but the thing that blows my mind. Dwight Henry is no actor, he is the baker from across the road from the film-maker's studio! He read during a quiet lunch hour and they wanted no one else, it was Wink. It is evident as to why - he is real, he lived through Katrina and the man knows the area and the emotion to live this character - this is award winning acting people but he will never see an Oscar - he is no Hollywood actor. I haven't seen an on-screen duo like this since The Piano.
Director Benh Zeitlin is a genius - this amazing feat of filming was made for $1.2MIL - less than the accommodation costs of most Hollywood actors when on set. This is also his first feature film and the guy looks incredibly young. I cannot fathom how he made this film and for this I just bow to him. He created a universe that is both dangerous and fragile and utterly stunning. The cinematography is enough to get you in the cinema for this film, it is a work of art, regularly highlighting the explosive cuteness of Hush Puppy (seriously what a cool name is that!! Haha).
I cannot fault the film, it is extraordinary and is out on SEPT 13th. It has already won abundant awards, put it on the calendars people so you don't miss this gem of wonder. Worth a pretty 10 out of 10 rampaging defrosted pig like bulls.
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