BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
JANUARY 20, 2013
Impressive on most accounts, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” makes the most of its unknown director and first-time cast to create a grand story of ingenuity. With the young Quvenzhane Wallis carrying most of the film with her narration and young girl/old soul mentality, there’s an other-worldly-ness to the entire film. Shot on location around New Orleans, a place depicted as being cut off from the world, where the small, impoverished community of “the Bathtub” is put underwater by a storm. Finding strength in its father-daughter connection that is more about survival than love or compassion, there are so many ideas and themes in the film that it is hard to grasp and hold onto just one. Benh Zeitlin’s first feature film is a success and a truly unique adventure.
RELEASE DATE
June 27, 2012
DIRECTOR
Benh Zeitlin
WRITTEN BY
Lucy Alibar
Benh Zeitlin
BASED ON
“Juicy and Delicious”
by Lucy Alibar
STUDIO
Fox Searchlight Pictures
PG-13
(for thematic material including child imperilment, some disturbing images, language and brief sensuality)
ADVENTURE
DRAMA
FANTASY
91 minutes
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Ben Richardson
COMPOSER
Dan Romer
Benh Zeitlin
EDITOR
Crockett Doob
Affonso Gonçalves
CAST
Quvenzhané Wallis
Dwight Henry
PRODUCED BY
Dan Janvey
Josh Penn
Michael Gottwald
BUDGET
$1.8 million
