Beasts of the Southern Wild

[dean_martin]

"Once there was a Hushpuppy and she lived with her daddy in the Bathtub."

Ok, for those who haven't seen it, Hushpuppy is the main character (a little girl), and the Bathtub is a low-lying area in Louisiana.

My wife and I had every intention of seeing this while it was in theaters, but something always came up. So, we picked it up on Blu-ray. It tells a story filled with gritty reality and the fantastic (from Hushpuppy's imagination playing on things she hears from her teacher and others).

As the story of this young girl and her erratic father unfolds, we meet interesting characters in the Bathtub and are reminded of the fragile balance that must be maintained in our environment and the universe. It's not that preachy, though. The "balance" stuff is displayed through Hushpuppy's imagination. I was focused more on the story and characters while watching and didn't give much thought to the environmental message until afterwards.

What I enjoyed the most was Hushpuppy's narration/thoughts. She pieced together cause and effect from what she observed and heard from others. It's an interesting study of how children put 2 and 2 together but don't always come up with 4.

The film dipped its toe into fantasy presented via the mind of a young girl. As such, the fantastical doesn't always make sense, but you know where her visions come from. Plus, there's a scene on a floating bar that stands out and that I may need to watch again to see if it answers my lingering question about Hushpuppy's mom.

Forget the environmental stuff I noted earlier. Don't let that turn you off. See it. See it with your significant other.

[Worf101]

Mystical, magical... amazing film. With some images that will stay with me all my days. I thought I reviewed this film here earlier but it must've been a different forum (ah spreads it around a little). Lyrically fascinating, it's a great double bill if combined with "Moonrise Kingdom". Another interesting film that views the world through a childs perspective. But that one was far lighter that BotSW. The father's portrayal tore my heart out and she was a marvel. Thanks for bringing this one up.

Worf

[Hyfi]

Great writeup Dean. This was a very unexpected film. Before watching it I thought it was about something completely different. I thought it was about Animals, like a nature documentary.

But, it turned out to be an amazing sleeper. My wife and I kept looking at each other saying "man this keeps getting stranger" but when it was all over, we kept on talking about it which is usually the sign of a good film.

The little girl was great.