The surprise hit of the Oscars, this tiny indie made a huge splash at last year's Sundance Festival. Directed by newcomer Benh Zeitlin and starring Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry. Set in the Louisiana bayou, in a community practically cut off from the rest of the world by a levee, the film tells the story of the "Bathtub's" youngest residents Hushpuppy (Wallis), and her daily struggle to survive with her hot-tempered, alcoholic father, Wink (Henry). One day, another resident of Bathtub tells Hushpuppy about the Aurochs, strong and powerful pre-historic beasts. When a fierce storm hits their community, Hushpuppy decides go searching for her mother, who "swam away" many years before, and to save her father, who is dying from a mysterious illness. She is guided by the spirit of the Aurochs, which serve as the foil of the protagonist: dominant and commanding while she and her community are helpless in defending their isolated world. It is not a film that I thought I would enjoy, as excessively off-beat and quirky pictures don't impress me (hello, Moonrise Kingdom!), but this one is an exception. It is lyrical, whimsical, almost fantastical, and indeed enjoyable. It is not by any means a masterpiece, but I thought it was a very honest and raw look at an entirely plausible struggle (minus the beasts, of course!). Nine-year-old Wallis is charming -- though maybe not Academy-Award nomination worthy...but she's so cute that I can see why voters perhaps put her through, and the same goes to director Zeitlin, who did a fine job for his first feature but was far and away inferior to Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow, who got unexplainably snubbed.
Should you see it: Yes
Grade: B-
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