Beasts of the Southern Wild

Sigh. I liked it. Not alot though. My movie-mate hated it. BUT would I say to watch it?- (it is out on DVD, etc), well, yes. Being from Louisiana, it always saddens me that there is some assumption that people who live close to the land are ignorant, illiterate and vulgar. I can tell you that many of the people who are fishermen or shrimpers or oystermen are college educated, are close to their families and live decent and kind lives. But somehow, the film industry thinks it is best to just do some cultural profiling and invent a stereotype, and frankly, it does piss me off. So it is hard for me to watch this sort of film. I got through it by pretending that it was directed by Guillermo DelToro- that really helped me deal with the bizarre imagery. As for the acting- I guess this is very good. The little girl (who was probably 8 at the time of filming) is phenomenal. She's a natural and the directors did a great job with her. The other actors have such brutal and surreal action that I have to give them credit.  It's about a group of people (filthy, sad, stereotypical red neck, etc) who live on a small barrier island on the other side of a long levee in Louisiana. One day a Katrinaesque storm comes in, the filthy squalor is now covered in mud, and the drunk father and the little girl and the others get forcibly removed, but they break out and get back (why???) to their lives.  I like to think it is NOT trying to be real, but is rather a tale of woe- not meant to be taken literally. Sigh. It is dark and very morose. But since I liked the kid, here are 2 stars.