Beasts of the Southern Wild

This movie is different than most anything you've ever seen, and it is beautiful in a melancholy way. It was nominated for four Oscars, but I refuse to hold that success against it.

Without knowing too much about the movie, M and I rented it off our Bluray player. We were absorbed in it for an hour and a half -- it was unpredictable and strange, difficult to understand in parts, but luminous and unique. The movie's plot is a little girl's journey to find her place in the world, but it's not corny or sappy in any way. The gruff teacher in one of the first scenes sets the tone -- she doesn't sugar coat any of the lessons she's teaching, and uses a tattoo to describe the monsters that will haunt the little girl throughout the movie. That kind of strangeness interests me, and the little girl, called Hushpuppy, does learn some harsh lessons. It is a local production from Louisiana, and the story of the community's survival despite storms, bureaucracy, and levees, is part of the plot. I found the extreme close-ups fascinating, and there are images I really enjoyed -- seeing the water shake as if from a monster's hoof when trouble starts brewing (possibly from thunder?), seeing people's real skin without any obvious make-up when the camera focuses and unfocuses on them. I don't want to give too much away, but I do recommend the movie.