2012 Film of the Year Countdown: #23

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin) [51 points / 5 votes]

"Beasts of the Southern Wild was the film I saw in the theater more than any other in 2012. I went back again and again because, for me, it was last year's greatest example of that thing that hooked us all so long ago - movie magic. Benh Zeitlin's bayou fairy tale positions us, rightfully, as just one more animal and the lessons it imparts are those things that help us survive and be the (occasionally) noblest and smartest in the kingdom: Self-reliance is key, no one is going to do it for you. Be brave. Be strong, but not at the expense of those weaker than you. We all live and love and struggle, if we're lucky, so don't ever quit.

Much has been made of Quvenzhane Wallis' central turn as Hushpuppy, and with good reason. She has a charisma that you don't see in folks all that often. I wouldn't exactly call it a performance in the traditional sense - I think it's her instincts equally combined with the direction and editing that form an outstanding whole - but I don't typically give a good goddamn about the traditional sense. I have never seen such a perfect depiction of the interior world of a six year-old kid and how they think the world keeps on spinning on the screen before. When you're six, it is magic. To show it as any less would be untrue, and every bit of that magic is in this girl's face. Every smile, every tear, every howl, every look of surprise or understanding is appropriate and affecting and made me wish I knew this character better. That's no small feat, no matter how small the actress.

I have read the criticisms of this film, some perfectly legitimate, some completely ridiculous, and I have to say none of that means a lot to me. The ramshackle brilliance of the thing is a triumph of resilience and imagination. It's not perfect, but you know what? Neither am I. It belongs to the lineage of great American stories and storytellers, cinematic and otherwise, that I love precisely for their imperfections. It makes me want to celebrate and ponder. It makes me long for summertime. It makes me want to get in a fight and break bottles. It makes me want to grab this life and shake every last bit from every experience, even dying. Yes, it has flaws, but it's as good as any of us on our best day and that's often better than we deserve. The wild joy it displays inspires me, the stiff backbone it advocates galvanizes me and the fact that there is still an old, weird America reassures me. That, my friends, is why I go to the movies. Hushpuppy is my hero." - Cole Roulain