[Ted Cunterblast]

Wondered if anyone else has seen this and what they thought of it.

I bought it sight unseen and didn't know what to expect - and it turned out to be a surprisingly good little movie.

Story concerns a young girl who lives with her father in a place in New Orleans known as the 'Bathtub', because it was built on the wrong side of the levee's. The small community live in shacks, the girls father is ill and her mother died when she was young, and the story is told through the eyes of the child, who views her environment as place of magic and wonder, but is also aware of the dangers.


When it becomes apparent that the father is probably dying, the child takes it in her stride, and the father shows some tough love towards the daughter in order to prepare her for the real world after he has gone.

The community becomes devastated and separated after a storm and flooding, and the film shows how the community pull together to pick up the pieces.


The acting is extraordinary considering the case are all non-actors, particulary Quvenzahane Wallis as the little girl Hushpuppy, and Dwight Henry as the father.


There is a slight fantasy edge to the movie, with Hushpuppy imagining mythical, boar-like beasts called Aurochs continually attacking their 'village'.


An interesting, magical, uplifting and emotional little movie.

[Duplicate]

Just watched it, and 'uplifting' and 'magical' are simply the best words to describe it. I was blown away by this film -- completely fell in love with it and made me feel like the Aurochs represented something in your life which you can overcome.

[Ads]

Just rented it on Blu Ray - a nice film with a great sound track. Deserves its Oscar nods.

[Bluray]

I felt very disappointed after seeing this.

I'm baffled as to why it's getting huge praise it is. It's by no means a bad film, it is well made for the budget but it just didn't do it for me.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

I saw this at the Watershed in Bristol and thought it was great.

The performances were beautifully observed, particularly Quvenzahane Wallis (had to copy and paste the spelling from your post, Ted) and the aurochs were a great visual metaphor for adversity.

Just the right blend of gritty reality and magical realism and hugely moving. It's the kind of film that restores your faith in cinema.

[Bluray]

Originally Posted by Trsvis_Bickle

I saw this at the Watershed in Bristol and thought it was great.

The performances were beautifully observed, particularly Quvenzahane Wallis (had to copy and paste the spelling from your post, Ted) and the aurochs were a great visual metaphor for adversity.

Just the right blend of gritty reality and magical realism and hugely moving. It's the kind of film that restores your faith in cinema.

You see, that's where my opinion differs completely.
Granted, the realism was there - there was a slight documentary feel that made it feel authentic.
But i got no magical realisim whatsoever - all the comments i'd read before about it being a magical fantasy - WHAT!!!
I'm sorry but i didn't get any of that. My biggest bugbear was the characters - her nasty, vicious father, the teacher with attitude, the pissed-up locals.

And the Aurochs thing - awful.

[little-monster]

Beautiful film. I want it to win Best picture at the oscars

And the little girl, Miss Wallis. She gives one of the best performances I have seen from a child in a very very very long time. To think she is only 8 and was 6 at the time of filming it.

[PJ68]

i thought this was dreadful and patronising, can't understand the praise it's getting. abusive father, living on the poverty line BUT OH WHAT AN AMAZING LIFE WE HAVE!!!

err no, you don't.

[RAZORBACK]

I thought this flick was pretty disappointing, relentlessly negative with characters I couldn't connect with or understand why they were so desperate to hold on to what little they had...

[yakutz]

Originally Posted by Bluray

I felt very disappointed after seeing this.

I'm baffled as to why it's getting huge praise it is. It's by no means a bad film, it is well made for the budget but it just didn't do it for me.

I agree. I was really looking forward to it after seeing the praise that it received, but while it was ok... I wasn't blown away by it and the style didn't really work for me.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Originally Posted by PJ68

i thought this was dreadful and patronising, can't understand the praise it's getting. abusive father, living on the poverty line BUT OH WHAT AN AMAZING LIFE WE HAVE!!!

err no, you don't.

But the fact that the characters are realistically unlikeable is what prevents it from being patronising! If they had been 'salt of the earth' types with hearts of gold living in noble poverty, that would have been patronising. The whole point is that they are flawed people, living at the fringes of society.