Beasts of the Southern Wild

Oh how lovely this film is! Until I actually sat in the dark of the Helios Nowe Horyzonty cinema (host of T-Mobile Nowe Horyzonty Festival), I didn't know what to expect. OK, it won Sundance and got several nods in Cannes, but I've witnessed lots of mistakes made with many awards. But this time, it was different. So fresh and original, a modern fairy-tale with lovely lovely characters. Quvenzhané Wallis (born in 2003!) is exceptional, can't wait to see what will she become in the future! And to think that the film is a full-length debut of Benh Zeitlin... Highly recommended!
(Polish premiere October 12th 2012, world premiere July 19th 2012)

Meanwhile,
check my review to the film (in Polish) here: Bestie z Ameryki, stopklatka, in English below the trailer, a great review from The New York Times here: Review in the NYT, and
an official trailer!

Beasts of America

The ease, charm and unpretentiousness, with which the six-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis captured the audience playing little Hushpuppy in the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" is incredible. Such talent does not happen often. A young, promising director Benh Zeitlin in his full-length debut feature surprises many more times, not only with his casting choices. In fact, those are all positive surprises. The screen beats with uncommon maturity and truthfulness, despite the fact that the viewer is a witness to quite unusual events, not to say - unreal. Zeitlin’s story, acting not only as a director, but also a co-author of the script and of the beautiful, poignant music, takes place somewhere in the neglected South of the United States, the area known by the locals as Bathtub. This is a place forgotten by God and the people, where only social outcasts chose to live, but against all odds, they live happily.

The inhabitants of Bathtub are left all alone, once they have been deemed useless to the system, and they have somehow fell into a loop, about which no-one warned. The children of this godforsaken land have no compulsory education, instead they receive crucial lessons on how to survive and defend themselves, once being left out the others and the “known.” The adults are trying to make a living with what they have, engaging in gathering and fishing, but most of all, in harmless drinking and talking. They have no worries as such, so far there always was enough for basic needs and a bottle of stronger liquor. They all live in haphazardly piled houses, with no running water, with occasional access to electricity, no TV, computer, phone, permanent mess and dirt.

For a viewer, watching this odd microcosm, it is difficult even in principle, to precisely determine the time in which the action is happening. The handful of material possessions of the main heroes does not help in solving this mystery.  But even without the arguable gains of the present times, the main protagonists are alive and seemingly well.

But at one point this horrible time comes, which verifies everything they experienced and knew about each other. There are dark, literal clouds gathering over Bathtub and the world of its inhabitants is about to fall into pieces. On the site, which lies on the flood plains, there should not be any people, not to mention homesteads, but there is nowhere else to go.

It is a matter of time when catastrophic downpours and tornadoes appear on the grim horizon, and with them - the utter destruction of this tiny community, which never had the need nor the means to construct levees. Against the background of this frugal globally, but crucial locally - tragedy unfolds another family tragedy. The father of the main character Hushpuppy - Wink gets seriously ill, and soon enough, especially in these conditions of life, might die, leaving his small daughter quite alone in the world. Given the amount of adversity, surely the least complicated way would be to break down and just give up. Zeitlin does not choose simple solutions however, and makes his characters fight to the end, no matter what. This is not an easy fight, because the beasts of this world, the demons of the past, haunt the little girl - the good spirit of the future. She is the sole climax of the story, thanks to her charisma, humor, and courage to face the unseen and undiscovered.

Zeitlin’s story is watched like the best action films, dramas, fantasy and adventure, all in one. Perhaps that's the whole secret. "Beasts of the Southern Wild" is a film telling a story of a community untouched by the modern life filled with stress and pursuit of money, with constant hurrying. This is a picture of passing an optimistic message, but not naive. It addresses important topics without pomposity, without particular claims, without settling matters once and for all. A simple story, but it remains in the minds and hearts long after the lights are on at the cinema. Here, away from the glitz and glitter of Hollywood and the almost manic pursuit of box office takings, Zeitlin’s story is extremely rich in themes and motifs, yet subtle and visually wonderful. This young director managed to juggle cinema genres, and with finesse and imagination worthy of the greatest visionaries. While doing so, he did not lose anything from the clarity of communication and multi-dimensionality of the story, which already proves his craftsmanship and allows looking forward to the next film of this fiendishly capable rookie.