RISING sea levels have led to the building of levees protecting the land from the waters beyond called the Bathtub, where the inhabitants are poor, socially outcast, unhealthy, little educated and materially deprived.
Since her mother’s death, seven-year-old Hushpuppy lives with her father Wink on a floating shack built on the tray cut from a pick-up truck. Wink, dying from a terminal condition, is raising her to survive in a world where she must rely on her own resources.
There’s not much joy, pleasure or humour reflecting off the screen from writer/director Benh Seitlin’s courageous feature debut. But, by golly, its emotional energy is profound and its visual statements are compelling. Seitlin has used the melting of the icecaps to import a fantasy to divert the drama from Hushpuppy’s situation.
The ice floes have carried down the bodies of aurochs and they have found the Bathtub area congenial. But these prehistoric ancestors of modern cattle (the last was sighted in 1627) have reincarnated as giant pigs and their influence on the story is an unexpected delight.
In a convincing, powerful and heartwarming performance, Quvenzhané Wallis, as Hushpuppy, carries a cinematic tour de force to impressive heights. The film won the Grand Jury and Cinematography awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
At Dendy
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