4th of July in the Bathtub

Earlier this week, I saw a film that I can't stop thinking about, "Beasts of the Southern Wild."  For me, the way in which Benh Zeitlin, the director told the story of people that I've never seen before was masterful and quite an achievement for a first time director. The extraordinary acting (by non actors, by the way) and beautiful art direction left me stuck in my chair when the lights came up.  Since it's showing at both Sundance and Cannes, "Beasts" is already getting quite a lot of buzz. I hope you are able to see it before reading about it so as to savor the many surprises of this beautiful, poetic and hopeful film. The reason I am making note of this film today is to share with you the astute and timely observations made by AO Scott and David Carr of the NY Times about this film. In light of our divisive political climate, the events of this week in our country, and the notion of what it is to be American, I think their comments about "Beasts" are worthy of our attention. Happy 4th of July.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/06/29/arts/design/100000001636103/the-sweet-spot-june-29-2012.html?partner=rss