Beasts of the Southern Wild

Details: By Loron Hays; 15 December 2012

{2jtab: Movie Review}

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Movie Review

{googleAds}

<div style="float:left">
<script type="text/javascript">
</script>
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script></div>{/googleAds}

The debut feature film of writer/director Benh Zeitlin is an unshakable force of nature that is not soon forgotten. Winner of the Camera d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival as well as the Grand Jury Prize for Drama at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a joyously exceptional exploration of a child’s profound understanding of the harsh reality of her world as it floods into chaos and change. Deeply philosophical, Beasts of the Southern Wild is easily one of the finest releases of the year.

Living in area far south of New Orleans, beyond the levees, in an impoverished area called “The Bathtub”, Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) and her alcoholic father Wink (Dwight Henry) eek out their lives from the items other people discard. They live in two separate ramshackled dwellings and raise their own food. Their life is hard and it’s echoed in Hushpuppy’s education - and her father’s style of raising her…which some audiences will misinterpret as abuse and neglect.

When a flood drowns their homes and washes away their way of life, the citizens of The Bathtub find unwanted help and concern from government officials and race back to the swamps to reclaim their ways. For Hushpuppy, her journey to independence as her father’s health declines is framed by a primal imagination and a beyond-her-years comprehension of spirituality and some really good soul food.

Written by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar's one-act play Juicy and Delicious, Beasts of the Southern Wild punches a hole in the universe and patches it with some of the most authentic performances you’re ever likely to see. Wallis is a miracle. Her performance is a natural part of the film’s authentic look and feel. There’s a commanding fierceness to her portrayal and it demands your attention. Henry, as her father, is also a natural. Being a real-life survivor of Hurricane Betsy, Henry’s experience is a plus to the independence his character is trying to instill in his daughter.

The Louisiana flood plains are captured on film with all the beauty of a nature film and yet the disastrous events are played out without the sentimentality one would expect from a film about a father and daughter relationship. This is a deeply moving and honest film. The childlike wonder within the harsh reality of Hushpuppy’s world is a complicated matter and a wondrous treat to witness during the film. She takes school lessons about global warming and extinct beasts and allows them into her primal imagination as she accepts responsibility for some regrettable events (she’s not responsible for) and tries to make sure history remembers Hushpuppy.

You, too, will remember Hushpuppy.

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material including child imperilment, some disturbing images, language and brief sensuality.
Runtime: 93 mins.
Director: Benh Zeitlin
Writer: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis; Dwight Henry; Levy Easterly; Gina Montana; Pamela Harper
Genre: Drama
Tagline: Beasts of the Southern Wild
Memorable Movie Quote: "The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece... the whole universe will get busted."
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Official Site: www.welcometothebathtub.com
Release Date: May 18, 2012 (Cannes Film Festival)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: December 4, 2012

Synopsis: After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the areas new razor-toothed residents.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Movie Review

Component Grades
Movie		Blu-ray Disc


Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - December 4, 2012
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); Digital copy (on disc)

Shot on 16mm, the 1080p transfer yields a natural depth and wonderfully crisp layer of grain and texture throughout. The natural light adds a great deal to the picture and clarity is rough but never distracting. The characters that reside in The Bathtub aren’t supposed to look pristine and the picture – which has nice levels of color popping throughout it – is as gritty as sandpaper. True beauty rewards the senses with this purposefully imperfect cinematic treat. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has surprising depth and the immersive qualities are utilized well. This is an expertly balance aural field.

Supplements:

Commentary:

None

Special Features:

The release comes with some interesting deleted scenes that, supplied with commentary from Zeitlin, give us a punctuated narrative that perfectly accents the film. Not a wasted scene in this batch. An energetic Making-Of featurette also makes this a solid release as it spends 20+ minutes looking at the big qualities this small film offers its viewers. A robust collection of raw footage from the auditions explored the leads of Hushpuppy and Wink. An earlier short film by Zeitlin is included and a quick piece shows Benh working with Dan Romer on the film's score. Another short featurette explores the film’s special effects work. With the inclusion of a DVD and a digital copy of the film, overall, this is a solid release from Twentieth Century Fox.