Beasts Of The Southern Wild

One regret I had from my recent trip to the USA was that I did not get to see 'Beasts Of The Southern Wild' while I was there. Luckily I got to see it here at home.
Co-writer and director Ben Zeitlin has done something fairly unique in this day and age. He has taken a familiar story and made a movie that is fresh and different. The setting is this place called The Bathtub. It is supposed to be on the southern coast of America and we can see civilization in the distance, but this place looks and feels like no where you have ever been before. It looks like a huge junk yard on the edge of a swamp but that just adds to the charm. The place is then populated by a quirky bunch of inhabitants as well. A part of this bunch is six year-old Hushpuppy and her father Wink. As you can see from this description this film is not very conventional. I think that is because the film is told from the perspective of Hushpuppy. Being a six year-old girl she sees the world in a very different way. She is prone to flights of fantasy so the film is full of very strange imagery. Hushpuppy will hear about something and then incorporate that into her imagination. This can be a bit off putting to some people and so the film is not told in the more conventional way that you are used to. One unusual aspect which might put people off is how Wink treats Hushpuppy. It is not always very nice but she seems like a very resilient young girl and does not seem worse off because of it. As the film goes on you learn why he is behaving the way he does and you come to understand it better. 
Every so often you see a performance by an actor which will totally blow you away. When that performance comes from a six year-old girl then it seems even more special. Quvenzhane Wallis is an amazing young actress who delivers a very powerful performance as Hushpuppy. Quvenzhane makes Hushpuppy a believably strong character to such an extent that you forget she is an actress and your watching a real girl. Dwight Henry is equally as good as her father, Wink. He may not always be the best father in the world but you know he truly loves his daughter. Dwight manages to convince you he is not all bad.
The strong and powerful story set in a place you have never been before. It also contains one of the best performances you are likely to see this year.