A new 'indie' film is making the rounds and having an impact. "Beasts" is a low budget film that accomplishes much in its 93 minutes of screen time. Blessed with amateur actors and a gritty, swampy landscape completely foreign to most viewers, the film captures the viewer in a tumultuous world of poverty, survival, primitive surroundings(physical geography), and life on the bayou/delta, all seen through the eyes of a six year old.
The emotional tug of the child's plight cannot be overlooked by any audience: motherless, living on life's margins with an alcoholic,abusive father who insists she live in her 'own quarters' on their property. The trials and tribulations are highlighted by encounters with other locals afflicted with similar conditions; a violent storm that displaces all the group members; contact with the outside world via government's benevolent intervention; and a determined return to their community after all.
The mixed cast of blacks and whites places the rural community in context: geography over rules race! The director does an excellent job of placing the thoughtful 6 year old girl as central to the storyline. Her father is the antagonist, continually placing her future at risk, whether as anarchist bomber, careless boozer, or absent leader of the family unit.
The film has its detractors, critics, and advocates from Oprah to the Obamas, to New Orleans medical professionals. Criticism is heaped on its portrayal of impoverished individuals who are accused of portraying stereotypes. Locals opine that the characters are true representations of many of the rural, Delta poor: fixed in their geographical setting, unable or unwilling to seek change despite the best or minimal efforts of government programs.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable film: Mayor awards 5 Tahoma stars!
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I'd love to read some of the different reviews. At first glance I just see good reviews from the local papers here.
ReplyDeleteI also have to respectfully disagree that the father is the antagonist. I am not sure there are any (human) antagonists in the movie. You could argue for the weather or "poverty" but the human characters are so rich and so complex. The main characters show qualities worthy of love and compassion but the actions that may be deplorable or hard to understand are just that but not final judgements on their humanity....Trying to understand the complexity of the father character speaks to the question we discussed about why quality of life does not seem to improve as a whole for the city of New Orleans.