Beasts of the Southern Wild
Overall: A very original, surreal, and moving drama about how the Katrina hurricane affected the life of an extremely secluded island near New Orleans. It’s must-see especially for the superior performance of 5-year old Quvenzhané Wallis.
***1/2 (out of 4)
The Story: Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of an isolated island near New Orleans named “The Bathtub”. It’s a poor community where everybody struggles to survive. Yet their spirits remain positive and they don’t want anything to do with the inland. The movie is narrated by: Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) a brave, cute and smart 6 year-old who lives with her Dad: Wink (Dwight Henry). Although Wink and Hushpuppy live in separates huts, they’re pretty close. Wink teaches her survival skills that will come very handy. And regarding Hushpuppy’s Mom we only know what Wink told her: “she swam away” As the movie progresses, Hushpuppy has to deal with very serious issues. (SPOILER ALERT). Swimming miles to meet her mom, learning her Dad is very sick, that Katrina will flood her community and giant prehistoric hogs will also attack too. At the end of the movie you can ask, which parts were real and ones were in Hushpuppy head. But this is the beauty of this movie. Disaster and survival through the eyes of a child.
Dwight Henry as Hush Puppy Dad
And I will repeat it: the main characters Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, give a tour de force performance. Just imagine Dwight was only a baker with 5 kids who accidently was cast in the movie. And if a baker can make you cry…