Beasts of the Southern Wild
In this Sundance and Cannes-winning drama, six-year-old Hushpuppy searches for her lost mother in swampland off the Louisiana coast, set against the backdrop of an environmental catastrophe that's unleashed an army of prehistoric creatures.
Hushpuppy (newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis) lives with her father in a southern Delta community cut off from the rest of the world. But when his health suddenly deteriorates, nature also tips out of balance and the girl is forced to go in search of her mother while the planet faces melting ice caps, rising temperatures and the impending threat of the creatures called 'aurochs'.
- Director:
- Benh Zeitlin (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Lucy AlibarBenh Zeitlin
- Cast:
- Quvenzhané WallisDwight HenryLevy EasterlyLowell LandesPamela HarperGina MontanaAmber HenryJonshel Alexander
Reviews & comments
Variety
pressA stunning debut that finds its dandelion-haired heroine fighting rising tides and fantastic creatures in a mythic battle against modernity.
Total Film
pressDespite its hard-scrabble setting, eco-gloominess and dystopian story, this dark fairytale is engagingly vivid and life-affirming. An ambitious love letter to a Louisiana way of life that's being literally washed away.
Time Magazine
pressMark down the date: June 27. That's when American moviegoers will see this perfect storm of a film, and the tiny force of nature that is Quvenzhané Wallis.
The Guardian
pressBeasts of the Southern Wild is a vividly poetic and maybe even therapeutic response to one of the most painful and mortifying episodes in modern American history, second only to 9/11.
Rolling Stone
pressThere's no way you won't be captivated by Wallis, chosen ahead of 3,500 candidates to play the tiny folk hero who narrates the story. Her performance in this deceptively small film is a towering achievement.
Roger Ebert
pressSometime miraculous films come into being, made by people you've never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius. Beasts of the Southern Wild is one of the year's best films.
Hollywood Reporter
pressAn exceptional American independent feature that deserves the best efforts to tap audiences that would surely embrace it.
Empire Magazine
pressBeautiful, funny, timely and tender, this is the American arthouse movie of the year.
Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild is skilfully shot and visually spectacular, marking Quvenzhane Wallis as one of the most talented young-performers in modern cinema, and proves that imagination is the key component in film-making.
Beasts of the Southern Wild is a must see. I haven't been so emotionally attached to a movie since Martin Scorsese's Hugo. The incredible performances from the two unknown actors, Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry is what makes there intense father-daughter relationship so convincing. What makes independent films like Beasts so great is that small budgets...
Where to start ... it is a hard film to talk about to people who have not seen it. So rich in it's subject matters, characters and metaphors, it challenges the modern western concept of everlinked wealth and happiness. The film also tackles issues such as climate change, uprooting, and what it means to be a good parent. I heard some people comment after...
A brilliant film playing on the link between the chain of natural disasters that we have been experiencing and the part that man has played in causing them. A young girl in the town of New Orleans experiences the flood with her unstable,drunkard ,heart patient father and learns how to be independent . Rife with symbolism and sentiment this movie would be...
There's a strange phenomenon related to the Sundance festival each year. The evolution of the world's most celebrated independent film festival from its DIY workshopping roots in the 1980s to the corporate bidding frenzy of today is well documented, but one constant is the massive buzz that surrounds, more often than not, a single film each year. What's odd...
The much lauded opening night NZ International Film Festival movie delivers on the promise of the trailer with a beautifully shot (albeit with an occasional overzealous use of handheld-camera...) tale told through a child's eyes. It's a film shot full of innocent awe and natural wonder, but what grabbed me and didn't let go was the standout performance by...
Variety
pressA stunning debut that finds its dandelion-haired heroine fighting rising tides and fantastic creatures in a mythic battle against modernity.
Total Film
pressDespite its hard-scrabble setting, eco-gloominess and dystopian story, this dark fairytale is engagingly vivid and life-affirming. An ambitious love letter to a Louisiana way of life that's being literally washed away.
Time Magazine
pressMark down the date: June 27. That's when American moviegoers will see this perfect storm of a film, and the tiny force of nature that is Quvenzhané Wallis.
The Guardian
pressBeasts of the Southern Wild is a vividly poetic and maybe even therapeutic response to one of the most painful and mortifying episodes in modern American history, second only to 9/11.
Rolling Stone
pressThere's no way you won't be captivated by Wallis, chosen ahead of 3,500 candidates to play the tiny folk hero who narrates the story. Her performance in this deceptively small film is a towering achievement.
Roger Ebert
pressSometime miraculous films come into being, made by people you've never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius. Beasts of the Southern Wild is one of the year's best films.
Hollywood Reporter
pressAn exceptional American independent feature that deserves the best efforts to tap audiences that would surely embrace it.
Empire Magazine
pressBeautiful, funny, timely and tender, this is the American arthouse movie of the year.
Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild is skilfully shot and visually spectacular, marking Quvenzhane Wallis as one of the most talented young-performers in modern cinema, and proves that imagination is the key component in film-making.
Beasts of the Southern Wild is a must see. I haven't been so emotionally attached to a movie since Martin Scorsese's Hugo. The incredible performances from the two unknown actors, Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry is what makes there intense father-daughter relationship so convincing. What makes independent films like Beasts so great is that small...
Where to start ... it is a hard film to talk about to people who have not seen it. So rich in it's subject matters, characters and metaphors, it challenges the modern western concept of everlinked wealth and happiness. The film also tackles issues such as climate change, uprooting, and what it means to be a good parent. I heard some people comment after...
A brilliant film playing on the link between the chain of natural disasters that we have been experiencing and the part that man has played in causing them. A young girl in the town of New Orleans experiences the flood with her unstable,drunkard ,heart patient father and learns how to be independent . Rife with symbolism and sentiment this movie would...
There's a strange phenomenon related to the Sundance festival each year. The evolution of the world's most celebrated independent film festival from its DIY workshopping roots in the 1980s to the corporate bidding frenzy of today is well documented, but one constant is the massive buzz that surrounds, more often than not, a single film each year. What's...
The much lauded opening night NZ International Film Festival movie delivers on the promise of the trailer with a beautifully shot (albeit with an occasional overzealous use of handheld-camera...) tale told through a child's eyes. It's a film shot full of innocent awe and natural wonder, but what grabbed me and didn't let go was the standout performance by...
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