Beast Of The Southern Wild

I was told on more than one occasion that this movie and it's plot were very hard to describe and indeed it is.  But I would describe it as a fantasy coming of age story that falls on so many life themes and subject matter, not the least of which would be the allusion to hurricane Katrina which actually serves more as a symbolic backdrop.  Through a young girl's eyes and imagination, realities of life and loss and the meaning of home and family are dealt with.  Young newcomer and Academy Award nominee Quvenzhané Wallis is quite phenomenal in her performance as Hushpuppy, a young girl abandoned by her mother and desperately trying to hold on to her father Wink, also played terrifically by first timer Dwight Henry.  My take on the title and it's meaning is that the beast in the imaginary mind of Hushpuppy are the extinct Auroch cattle, who serve as a metaphor perhaps to our stewardship to the earth and at the same time representing what's innate in ourselves. I really enjoyed this movie, as it was moving, refreshing, and yielded the spirit of real film making and the subject matter of universal humanity and survival.