Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild: This movie is unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s the story of Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), a 6-year old girl living with her father (Dwight Henry) in a place called the Bathtub, a makeshift Southern community built near a levee and susceptible to storms. As directed by Benh Zeitlin, we see the film through Hushpuppy’s eyes, with the movie alternating between reality and fantasy. The results are enchanting, sometimes scary, and ultimately breathtaking. Wallis is nothing short of incredible in the central role, a child actress with astonishing power. Henry, as her father, Wink, delivers what’s surely one of the year’s best performances. The whole thing plays like a fairytale updated for modern times, but the modern times depicted feature very few modern amenities (no iPhones in this movie). It will draw many an emotion out of you. It’s one of the year’s best films.