Art Culture Wesleyan

Wes Grad Early Oscar Contender

In early February we blogged about Beasts of the Southern Wild, which earned the grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic category at Sundance. HuffPost Entertainment now speculates that Benh Zeitlin ’04 may take home an Oscar for his creative film–a captivating look at the Louisiana delta at its harshest, seen through the eyes of an equally tough child.

HuffPost Entertainment  ““Visually stunning and boldly unorthodox, ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ spins a fearsome and intoxicating tale of life beyond the borders of civilization,” wrote HuffPost Executive Entertainment Editor Michael Hogan after seeing the film in Park City, Utah.

“One of the most striking narrative debuts ever to debut at the Sundance Film Festival,” Todd McCarthy noted in THR, a sentiment echoed by New York Timescritic Manhola Dargis.

Impressive! So, does “Beasts of the Southern Wild” look that good? Judging from the new trailer, it does! Which raises the question: does 2012 have its first serious Oscar contender?

The film, which stars newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis, is about a young girl who tries to overcome immense odds to save her father and her bayou home after a biblical-like hurricane strikes. Dramatic! There are also sparklers and the title beasts, which kinda look like something out of “Where The Wild Things Are.” Only instead of being directed by Spike Jonze, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” looks like something Terrence Malick might have whipped up. (The film’s actual director is Benh Zeitlin, who also co-wrote the score which you can hear in the clip.)”

Here’s the new trailer, the film comes out June 27th: