March 20, 2013
.a'1"' ^ o r tla n h (©bserlier
ancouver
East County
Beaverton
Alberta
North Portland
‘Beastsofthe Southern Wild,’
Stands Out
Quvenshane Wallis (right) stars in ‘Beasts o f the Southern W ild ,'a stoiy about a five-year-old child called Hushpuppy who lives in squalor in a shack next to one inhab-
ited sometimes by her father, Wink (left), played by Dwight Henry.
was disappointed, but not surprised, to they are portrayed at all. In fact, compared to
see "Beasts of the Southern Wild" lose just about any other culture, American films
out on all of its four nominations at the overwhelmingly reside in the world of the
Academy Awards ceremony, receiving only wealthy and the beautiful, even when they
what I perceived as patronizing references purport to be portraying the middle class.
that seemed more like the Academy patting
"Beasts" stands out, first, because it de­
itself on the back for generously according
some recognition to "the little people."
Darleen Ortega has been a judge on the Oregon Court o f Ap­
The surprised reaction I got in some quar­
peals since 2003 and is the first woman o f color to serve in that
ters for naming it the best picture of the year
on m y ow n p e rso n a l top 10 list
capacity. She has been writing about movies for well over a
(opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com) reinforced
decade. A regular contributor to the Portland Observer, you can
my sense that, for all the critical acclaim it has
find her movie blog at opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com.
g arn ered , it still is one o f the m ost
underappreciated films of the year. So, here’s
my best attempt to capture why this film picts a community whose poverty is deep, able to most movie-going Americans.
earned my admiration.
intractable, and lived-in. Yet it is not exactly
The motherless five-year-old child at its
The poor (which disproportionately about their poverty; it aims to depict a com­
center, who is called Hushpuppy, lives in
means African Americans) are rarely ac­ munity that feels itself to be rich in many
squalor in a shack next to the one inhabited
corded much dignity in American films, when ways, though its conditions are unimagin-
sometimes by her father, Wink, who is en­
I
O pinionated
J udge
gaged in an epic struggle with a life-threaten­
ing illness.
Hushpuppy is too often alone, and Wink's
treatment of her may well be questioned. Yel
she experiences her community as a magical
place and is attentive to the many lessons
she receives from listening to the heartbeats
of its creatures and observing her elders. She
acquires from that community, especially
from a wise artist and herbalist and from
Wink, an epic determination and a sense of
the mythical importance of her own life and
continued
on page 16