Monday, July 23, 2012

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Directed by Benh Zeitlin. Laemmle Monica on a Monday night. Hard to believe this is an American film and an American voice. Takes place in a swampland, Bayou community off the Gulf of Mexico. Has the feel and fabric of a foreign film. Of another people. Another land. Thought about comparisons to Ray's Panther Panchali, with the signs of modern civilization creeping in to a cut-off, insular community/village, or more recently Uncle Boonmee.

Yet I didn't have much in the way of an immediate, overwhelming emotional reaction while the film played. Never quite grabbed a hold as much I would have liked. Neither in the gut, nor in the heart. Though it has a lot of heart on screen.

I am very much attracted to this idea of a young film collective establishing themselves in New Orleans. This film achieves a vision and a voice, and a different feel entirely.

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