Discovering Beasts

I'm the kind of person who always has lists. I have lists of albums that I want to hear, books I want to read, and movies that I want to see. Due to the length of said lists, it sometimes takes years before I'm able to cross an item off. That was the case with Beasts of the Southern Wild. It is a movie that I've wanted to see since it came out, but it never showed in the area, or if it did, it disappeared from the theater before I could see it. And then it never showed up on any of the streaming services, but I always kept looking. Finally, I came across it at the library and checked it out (and renewed it once, because even when it was in my possession, it took two weeks to find the time to watch it).

Now, it should be said that even though this is a movie that has been high on my list for seven years, I knew very little about it. However, in that time, my mind had orchestrated images and ideas about it based on the limited images I'd seen and descriptions I'd read. In my mind, I was expecting something along the lines of The City of Lost Children and maybe Tideland. In other words, something more fantasy based. And while there are elements in the film that remind me of the above movies, this is a very different film.

The movie follows a young child named Hushpuppy during a few days in her life living in a fictional version of the swamp islands of Louisiana. Hushpuppy is preparing herself for the end of the world, when the polar ice caps will melt and unleash fearsome beasts trapped in the ice that will come to eat her and all the eclectic residents of "The Bathtub."

The truly exceptional aspect of this film, and the reason I believe it was so celebrated when it came out, is how it is able to capture the way a child sees and understands the world. It reminded me of the way I understood the world at the time, the way a matter-of-fact comment (especially from an adult) could blend with the very active imagination that was just as much of a reality as reality was. It also depicts a way of life that is nearly forgotten and nearly invisible in mainstream society and makes you remember that this is a big world and people live differently throughout, but what unites us is our humanity, our love for each other, our struggles to survive and live and enjoy life. 

There is beauty. There is sadness. There is weakness and there is strength. A movie like this is worth the wait.