Beasts of the Southern Wild

What it's about:

Believing that the entire universe fits together just right, the star of Beasts of the Southern Wild belongs to a bayou community that has been isolated from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee. With a very sick father and on the brink of being an orphan, Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) maintains a childhood enthusiasm and a beautifully rich imagination, the structure of her world stable with the knowledge that the natural world is in balance with the universe. A tribute to her father’s tough love, she is prepared for a day when the universe might begin to unravel.

When a violent storm erupts, however, the six-year-old’s reality is suddenly and dramatically changed. Her father’s deteriorating health becomes more apparent and the environmental changes result in the release of an army of prehistoric creatures. Hushpuppy must go on a quest to find her lost mother and restore order to her world.

What the critics thought:

"Benh Zeitlin's debut feature is part film, part hallucination: a ripe and gamey piece of what you might call Apocalyptic Southern Gothic, ambitious and flawed but sprinting with energy."
- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian


"Spielberg will love this film, if he doesn't already. Zeitlin's ability to create a believable world out of seemingly impossible ingredients is just that good."
- Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com


"Movies that mix magic and gritty realism almost never work , but Zeitlin, who is making an auspicious feature directing debut, pulls it off with awesome results."
- Lou Lumenick, New York Post