Beasts of the Southern Wild by, Aaron Charny

Beasts of the Southern Wild is the story of survival. Six year old, Hushpuppy lives with her dad in “The Bathtub” the southern wetlands of Louisiana. As a storm floods “The Bathtub” and her father gets sick, Hushpuppy needs to learn how to survive on her own.

Director, Benh Zeitlin uses shaky camera and rack focus to bring the viewer into the environment of The Bathtub. The visuals, from the flooded homes of south Louisiana, along with the acting from Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), makes this film extraordinary.

Beasts of the Southern Wild by Christiane Butler

The way the film was made, specifically the shaking/un-steady camera and narration by Hushpuppy, at first made me think that we were watching a documentary. Then the story became too fantastical and I realized it was a fiction work. I think this made me feel more connected to the characters, as if they were real.
The movie was very quick, it started with a great introduction to build up the characters. Once I had a good understanding of the main characters the movie whisked us away on an adventure, I couldn't look away and I was rooting for Hushpuppy and her father. The characters had enough good in them to make you root for them, but enough faults to make them believable. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and would happily recommend it to anyone!

Beasts of the Southern Wild- Carol Ostling

Beast of the southern wild was a touching independent film. The main character was Hushpuppy who is a little girl of about six. The story is told through the eyes of the little girl about Bathtub and how the community survives even through hurricane Katrina.A lot of the elements that we have been discussing were in this such as memory and P.O.V. However, with this being a slightly experimental film it did have other elements that I  myself am not acquainted with, this being the mysticism of the south. Especially the area that Hushpuppy grew up in. Even though I could not fully understand, I still enjoyed this element of the movie. It helped show Hushpuppies bravery even more. 

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Benjamin Hilton

Beasts of the Southern Wild is the heart touching tale of six year old Hushpuppy who lives with her hot-blodded father, Wink, on a small island called the bathtub. Wink contracts a mysterious disease as a hurricane fast approaches and most of the residents flee the tiny island directly in it's way. Hushpuppy and Wink choose to stay. As Wink's condition gets worse, Hushpuppy searches for an answer to keep her father with her.

Overall, I found this to be a very good movie. The acting from Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) was excellent. For her being as young as she is the acting was quite stellar. The story was also a well written. I didn't find much in the movie as a whole that took me out of viewing it. Even for an experimental piece I believe that this movie has a wide audience.
3/4 stars

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD by Bryan Tosh

Beasts of the Southern Wild is the Sundance Film Festival darling of the year. An emotional story told through the eyes of a little southern Louisiana girl named Hushpuppy, incredibly played by new comer Quvenzhane Wallis. She lives in a small gulf community outside the safeguard of the levees. She is a curious little thing, as most six year olds are, mostly about all living things, plants, animals.

Although there are other characters in the film, such as her father, Wink (Dwight Henry), the film’s POV is generally via our main character Hushpuppy. We are introduced to how she sees the world both in reality and in part through her imagination. She deals with her wild and unpredictable father as he battles a blood disease and slowly dies in front of her, even though he attempts to hide the disease from Hushpuppy. What Wink doesn’t grasp is how much his daughter already understands about life and death at this tender age.

 

 

As her father struggles with his disease, he also struggles to raise his little girl alone. All he knows is survival out there in the “southern wild”. He takes an approach of the masculine ideal as he teaches his daughter. “No tears” is a lesson she learns from Wink. You’ve got to be tough if you want to survive beyond the levees, which they refer to as “the bathtub”. Hushpuppy wants to be tough for her father and displays evidence thereof throughout the film. She IS a beast of the southern wild. As we see near the end of the film however, some battles can’t be fought or won by just being tough. Wink eventually succumbs to his disease in the climax of the film as father and daughter finally share tears together.

 

As I watched this film I was reminded of another film and book about a child with an active imagination and fantasy, Where The Wild Things Are. I think themes of freedom, fantasy, family, and belonging - among other themes - are shared between these two movies.

 

 

 

 

Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) by Mark Zuiderveld

What a precious and uplifting film this is! Some themes the film explores are mysticism, family, culture and community. What's also important to note is how abrasive modern civilization treats a group of people who choose to live in a forested environment; there are boundaries broken along civil lines. The film incorporates metaphorical imagery (dare I say, poetic) of ancient aurochs (like ancient warthogs?) that come back to life; are they symbolic of the feelings and needs of our young protagonist, Hushpuppy? Zeitlin's film shows us the happiness and joy of a sequestered community faced with conflict from the civilized world, the issues of dealing with disease, and the strength and hope of caring for our loved ones. I can see this film being nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and possibly winning.

Some important films I was reminded of were David Gordon Green's George Washington (2000), which explores the lifestyle and emotions of a Black community in rural North Carolina, as well as Green's Undertow (2004), with its rural Georgia imagery.

A film like Beasts of the Southern Wild seems so rare that once you watch it, you never forget it.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) By Andrew Barrick

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

I found Beasts of the Southern Wild to be a well crafted independent film. High praise to the cast and crew of the film, who came up with a story of finding love and bravery. Interesting, the film struck a chord with me in regards to the all volatile weather that we see in the Gulf of Mexico (ie. Hurricanes Katrina & Isaac). As we have discussed in the War & Cinema class, the film contains elements of memory, between a young Hushpuppy and Wink. Beasts of the Southern Wild also explores the identity of a band of neighbors who join together to survive after the melting of the polar ice caps.