Beasts of the Southern Wild Reviews

What is also extraordinary is that almost all the people we see are actors. So this is not a documentary but a moving enactment by people who are themselves moved.

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A cute, but meandering story of growing up alone and having to fend for oneself even when there's help to be received.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

One of the ten best films of 2012.

Full Review | Original Score: A-

A strangely different and slightly magical film.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Prepare to be moved and inspired by this unique masterpiece.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

Beasts of the Southern Wild is the reason we go to movies.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5

Yearns to find eternal truths under impossible circumstances, and succeeds with flying colors by my watch.

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In his willingness to ignore convention, Zeitlin does reveal a confidence that few first-time directors display. He's made a film that's the antithesis of Hollywood's summer mind-set.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Beasts of the Southern Wild is sheer poetry on screen: an explosion of joy in the midst of startling squalor and one of the most visceral, original films to come along in a while.

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For all its curiosities and loose ends, Beasts of the Southern Wild casts a formidable spell.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

A startling debut feature - this year's "Winter's Bone," but a film all the more magical because we sense that even Zeitlin, as sharp as his eye undoubtably is, will never be able to duplicate it.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

Without TREMÉ, BEASTS would not have worked for me, and compared to TREMÉ, BEASTS is little more than a slight, forgettable diversion.

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Really the lifestyle of these people takes center stage. It's hard not to appreciate their joie de vivre, or the believable performances these non-actors give. They're both "beasts"!

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10

The film with the biggest heart of 2012.

Full Review | Original Score: B

I doubt anyone is going to watch Beasts of the Southern Wild and understand it immediately... But it's still a fascinating movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

This movie has to be seen to be believed, and to be believed, it simply has to be seen.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Fully formed and beautiful whether you like it or not.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10

The strangest, sweetest coming-of-age flick you'll see all year.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

It's a human drama which stays with you for quite some time afterwards.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Beasts is an extraordinary, deeply moving film that's one of the best of 2012. When the end credits roll - just like Hushpuppy - you'll feel like the king of the Bathtub.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5