LAFF 2012: BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD



Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) in Beasts of the Southern Wild.

A hard rain falling

By John Esther

In a bayou community located in the southern Delta there is an area known as the Bathtub. Free from postmodernity’s profits, prophets, power, products and prisons, animals with two legs cohabitate with the other animals until one becomes meat for another animal. “Everything is meat."

Amongst the habitants is a six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis). Dirty much left to her own devices since her mom “swam away,” Hushpuppy can take care of herself wild-child beyond her years, thanks to the disciplinary ways of her father, Wink (Dwight Henry).

Dad is all about self-reliance (and booze dependent) and yells at his daughter to be a man. Hushpuppy growls. Hushpuppy has her own crib where she can cook her own cat food stew with a blowtorch. When dad disappears, Hushpuppy must fend for herself, as well as the pets.

While dad tries to instill personal responsibility in his daughter, Hushpuppy guides her childhood through her wild imagination. She listens to the other animals talk. They tell her they are hungry or have to poop. She sees herself as an artifact to be studied by people in the great future. She imagines Aurochs, an extinct bovine animal, running across her land, hunting her down (Aurochs were herbivores).

As nasty and noble as their lives may be, Hushpuppy and her fellow creatures are threatened with possible extinction when Hurricane Katrina rears its vicious head (They know not its name. Wink thinks it is the devil). While many beasts leave the area, her father and a few Bathtub residents remain in the dark – usually by getting so wasted they pass out. (In one hilarious scene a drunkard consuming beer walks right out of his house and falls into the deep water, which was not there yesterday.)

Smarter than your typical Fox News viewer (they have no television so the do not watch any news, they accept global warming, and religion and race are irrelevant), the habitants who remained have a harder time with the Bathtub, which is now drenched in salt water and disease. Hurricane Katrina has demolished most of the already-dilapidated homes. Living off the land is no longer a viable option, especially since Wink is ill and authorities are rounding up the inhabitants and bringing them to mainland quarters. What is a six-year-old girl to do? Escape, but to where?

Directed by Behn Zeitlan, co-written by Zeiltan and Lucy Alibar -- based on her stage play, Juicy and Delicious, and shot by Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a mesmerizing, fantastic piece of cinema. From the opening scenes prior to the sparkling credits (yeah, you know you are in for something better than the usual) to the final de(construct)evolution scene, the crew and cast --both Wallis and Henry had no prior acting experience! -- have made a film that will be talked about this summer (the film opens theatrically June 27), in future film/ethnography classes and at the upcoming awards season. New talents have arrived.

Highly recommended.

Beasts of the Southern Wild screens at the Los Angeles Film Festival: June 15, 7 p.m., Regal Cinemas.