![]() ![]() The opposition between the hippie community of the Cash and the exalted American capitalism is evident, but the film does not take positions, it remains on a wonderful indecision, which perhaps is the same of the director, who has lived in hippie communities during his childhood. ![]() This is the anti-capitalist miscrocosmo that Ben creates with his wife Leslie, who, however, will commit suicide beacause of her illness.Īt this point the family must return to the “real world” for the funeral of the woman, and it is here that the director Matt Ross, at his second film (but the first really important) surpasses himself. Strange names, that he has especially given, so that they are unique in the world, for serious : this kids are able to hunt, to climb mountains, to study the theory of strings, to discuss Marxism. The spectator, between sounds of streams that turn into the natural music of Alex Somers, is brought inside a different world, a world in which a father, Ben Cash ( an exceptional Viggo Mortensen, that has been candidate for the category “best actor” in the Oscars 2017) grows alone in the forest his six children: in order of age Bodevan, the twins Kielyr and Vespyr, Rellian, Zaja and Nai. The first minutes of Captain Fanta stic are a rite of initiation: yes, the passage to the adulthood of the young Bodevan, but also a rite of initiation of the spectator. ![]() The groans of a deer killed by a boy with a face covered by the must. A long take on a forest in the north of the United States, with a pleasantly blinding light that touches the camera lens and thus our eyes. Unfortunately the script dips a bit in its final acts, letting Captain Fantastic off a little easily, but it’s already a philosophical triumph by that point, a good movie that’s actually about something.Silence. Writer-director Matt Ross delivers some pretty satisfying emotional release, and a captivating twinning of joy and sorrow. The kid actors are mercifully good, and Mortensen is generous with them in their shared scenes. And by serious I mean I cried a small ocean’s worth of salty tears. This film is quite funny in parts, and quite serious in others. Should a parent’s decisions always be respected? Are anti-capitalist, anti- establishment values best addressed by dropping out of society? How much freedom is too much freedom for children? And what kind of risk is acceptable? And do children need to sometimes be shielded from difficult or painful concepts, or is complete honesty always the best policy? And the kids are growing resentful.Ĭaptain Fantastic raises a lot of interesting questions about parenting. They don’t know how to interact with the modern world, so unless all of them are prepared to continue subsistence living, and form an incestuous colony, it’s not really a sustainable lifestyle. In Captain Fantastic, the kids are book-smart but lacking in experience. They develop rich inner lives and lots of art, but are totally unaware of what real life entails. Without education or even identification, it’s tough for them to rejoin the ‘real world.’ In The Wolfpack, a bunch of kids are kept pent up in a New York apartment. He turns out some great athletes, but the kids are otherwise totally unprepared for real life. In Surf Wise, a doctor raises his kids on the beach, establishing a surf school. I’ve seen enough documentaries to know that raising a family off-grid, though idealistic, is not always so great for the kids. Viggo Mortensen is fantastic, although not always likeable. Her death is the catalyst for the family returning to civilization to attend her funeral. Mom, as it turns out, is off in a mental health facility, and has been away from the family for several months before they learn she’s committed suicide. Not all the parents are happy either, although so far I’ve only mentioned Captain Dad. It sounds heavenly or lonely, depending on your perspective. Each kid has a unique, made-up name so they’ll be the “one and only” in the world. They hunt and grow food, read meaty novels by campfire light, and train their bodies strenuously, sometimes dangerously. Captain Fantastic, the movie and the man, asks big questions, gives brutal answers, and leaves you with deep thoughts for analysis.Ĭaptain Fantastic, played with vigour by Viggo Mortensen, is a man raising 6 kids in the woods like a pack of wild coyotes. ![]()
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