Beasts of the Southern Wild is a fantastical, emotionally powerful journey and a strong case of filmmaking that values imagination over money.
For the critically acclaimed feature, director Benh Zeitlin and his small film crew set up production in an abandoned convenience store in Montegut, La., to make a film that celebrates a place where people refuse to leave their homes — no matter how dire the situation.
In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a young girl exists on the brink of orphanhood.
Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions.
Part social realism drama, part magical fairytale, part eco-themed cautionary tale, Beasts of The Southern Wild is arguably three beautiful films rolled into one.
Set in a primitive, borderline-feral swamp-community, Benh Zeitlin offers a thoughtful depiction of extreme poverty, but does so in a way which blurs the line between fantasy and a child’s imaginary perspective of the world. Undoubtedly eccentric and unusual but crucially never silly, this is a thoughtful, ethereal, dream-like and satisfying film.
CVAG Fall Film Series:
Oct. 28 — Beasts of the Southern Wild
Directed by Benh Zeitlin, Drama/Fantasy, Rated PG-13, Runtime 1 hr. 31 min, Country: USA, Language: English.
Nov. — Boy
Directed by Taika Waititi, Drama/Comedy, Unrated, Runtime 1 hr. 27 min, Country: New Zealand, Language: English, Maori.
Film tickets are available at the CVAG Gift Shop, 580 Duncan Ave. in Courtenay, and Videos N More, 264 Anderton Rd., in Comox. If the film does not sell out, tickets will also be available in the Rialto Theatre lobby before the film.
All films are on Sundays at 5 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre in Courtenay at Driftwood Mall and are fundraisers for the Comox Valley Art Gallery.
For updates and more information on the films, visit www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com or call 250-338-6211.
— Comox Valley Art Gallery