I am going to say it here, Beasts of the Southern Wild is going to get best picture this year. I am so certain of this because it’s still on my mind today after seeing it last night. If you get the chance to check this film out you most certainly will not be disappointed. It’s something so beautiful, real and surreal it’s hard to fully put it into words. One thing is for certain by the end of the movie you will be balling your eyes out. It’s been quite some time since I have actually seen a movie that truly moved me in this way. I guess I would put it loosely into the same category as say Pan’s Labyrinth or maybe Where the Wild Things Are. However at it’s core it’s a much more emotional ride than either of those.

It’s based on a small fictional bayou village who’s residents is hit hard by a hurricane and completely desolated. At the center of the story is Hushpuppy played by Quvenzhané Wallis who will probably be nominated for an Oscar even though she’s only six years old. It follows her journey as her and her father try and survive the flood while refusing to leave the area. Sounds simple enough, but the journey that follows is one of the most visually stunning put to screen. The landscape, the characters, the music is hard to erase from your mind. It feels like you’ve stepped into a different world entirely with merely the lightest tinge of fantasy thrown into the story as the beastly creatures that appear from time to time in the story only enhance the fact that you may be seeing things from a slightly skewed perspective of a six year old. This movie blew my mind and even more so was the fact this was director Benh Zeitlin’s first feature length film as were the films two major players Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry who starred as her father “Wink”.

So if you’re looking for something special to see amidst the usual Hollywood schlock this one is a must, just be prepared for it to be floating in your mind like like a some incredible dream you can’t forget for days after…