Benh Zeitlin & Lucy Alibar’s Beasts of The Southern Wild is a beautifully vivid story viewed through the eyes of six-year-old Hushpuppy & her relationship with a father battling alcoholism, fatherhood & a rapidly deteriorating health condition.
This story is set deep within a Louisiana bayou where a tight knit community currently live in uninvited exhile from the mainstream community sustained by levees offering limited protection in an area known only as ‘the bathtub’. As a violent & relentless storm approaches, the threat of life changing events loom fast, including the release of mysterious prehistoric creatures from icy tombs in the Arctic, destined for a meeting with Hushpuppy in the bathtub.
Zeitlin & Alibar have produced a highly inspiring tale, matched by a simple & effective philosophical narration provided by the young Hushpuppy. The fictional content is matched with impressively intense cinematography from Ben Richardson who manages to convey strong senses of drama, desperation, hope & belief all of which are outlined in the emotionally appealing & performances of Quvenzhané Wallis & Dwight Henry.
The film has won awards at the Cannes & Sundance film festivals, as well as several awards in other national festivals since being released in June 2012 & there’s nothing to suggest that it won’t win any others.
Beasts of The Southern Wild is on release at selected UK cinemas & will be available on DVD from December 12th onwards.
Freedom & Out!
freedomcampseventy 