
People will make the case that this is the world as seen through the eyes of a six year old on her own personal journey, but I really think that would just be an excuse. My guess is the first time director, Benh Zeitlin, had a lose narrative in mind and then followed around Wallis through numerous photogenic environments hoping to capture some beautiful imagery then put some pseudo-enlightened narrative over it to try tie it together. Maybe I am being a little dense and , but the metaphor for the giants beasts never quite made sense for me and seemed underdeveloped and unnecessary, taking away from the time that would have better spent with additional scenes between the father and daughter.
I understand this film was made for about $2 million, that is not an excuse to jack up the score. While the film is deserving of some praise for certain elements, little Quvenzhane Wallis' performance as Hushpuppy is admirable for a girl her age even if her delivery is monotone for the most part she is a great starer and the cinematography is beautiful - the story, although beautiful and emotional at times never uses its parts to form a cohesive whole. It feels like a short film stretched out to feature film length, a wandering poem rather than a tale. After all is said and done you can't help but wonder, what did we just watch, was there anything profound or just a bunch of mumble jumble mysticism of a storyteller looking to piece together some interesting, yet hollow elements.
6.0 out of 10
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