Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.

Director:

Benh Zeitlin

Writers:

Lucy Alibar (screenplay), Benh Zeitlin (screenplay)

Stars:

Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 92 wins & 123 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Quvenzhané Wallis	...	Hushpuppy
Dwight Henry	...	Wink
Levy Easterly	...	Jean Battiste
Lowell Landes	...	Walrus
Pamela Harper	...	Little Jo
Gina Montana	...	Miss Bathsheba
Amber Henry	...	LZA
Jonshel Alexander	...	Joy Strong
Nicholas Clark	...	Boy with Bell
Joseph Brown	...	Winston
Henry D. Coleman	...	Peter T
Kaliana Brower	...	T-Lou
Philip Lawrence	...	Dr. Maloney
Hannah Holby	...	Open Arms Babysitter
Jimmy Lee Moore	...	Sgt. Major

Storyline

Hushpuppy, an intrepid six-year-old girl, lives with her father, Wink, in the Bathtub, a southern Delta community at the edge of the world. Wink's tough love prepares her for the unraveling of the universe; for a time when he's no longer there to protect her. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack, temperatures rise, and the ice caps melt, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. With the waters rising, the aurochs coming, and Wink's health fading, Hushpuppy goes in search of her lost mother.

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Plot Keywords:

community | delta | climate change | melting ice caps | child protagonist | 

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Taglines:

¡Sin duda la mejor película del año! [MX]

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material including child imperilment, some disturbing images, language and brief sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 2012 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Bestias del sur salvaje

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$169,702, 1 July 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$12,795,746

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,080,058

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinereach,The Department of Motion Pictures,Court 13 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production did not hire a cinematographer until less than a month before production. Director Benh Zeitlin had originally intended to act as cinematographer himself but later decided to employ one. Ben Richardson was hired as as the cinematographer for the miniature portions and had lobbied to shoot the entire film, but despite his friendship with Zeitlin the producers were hesitant to hire Richardson because he had never shot a feature. After veteran cinematographers were screened and an appropriate one could not be found Richardson shot a test reel on his own and presented it to the producers, and was subsequently hired.

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Goofs

When Hushpuppy places the Michael Jordan jersey on her sleeping father the shot is reversed - the number 23 is backwards.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hushpuppy: All the time, everywhere, everything's hearts are beating and squirting, and talking to each other the ways I can't understand. Most of the time they probably be saying: I'm hungry, or I gotta poop.
[listening to bird's heartbeat]
Hushpuppy: But sometimes they be talkin' in codes.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.171 (2012)

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Soundtracks

(It Will Have To Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along
Performed by Fats Waller and His Rhythm
Written by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin, L.E. Freeman, Mann Holiner and Alberta Nichols
Courtesy of RCA Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Shallow, phony, pretentious little film.

A third of the way into this thing I told my companion that I'd bet money it was directed by some kid from New York out of film school who obviously did not grow up in the South and doesn't really know the South. Apparently i was correct. The picture is a bluff. Shallow, phony, underdeveloped characters. A lot of pretentious symbolism, shaky camera, and very annoying, distancing music (third rate Phllip Glass stuff, courtesy of the director). It strives for something in the vein of Terence Malick, I guess. Less than halfway through I didn't really care. A very long ninety minutes, only for the gullible. I'm a big fan of the kind of film this one pretends to be. I love Cassavetes and Malick and embrace all manner of cinema, from pulp to classic noir to art house and foreign cinema going back to the Silent Era. But I kinda hate this phony little movie. Even the little girl's performance is being highly overrated by those easily impressed and amused out there. You've been warned .