Directed by:
Matt RossScreenplay:
Matt RossCinematography:
Stéphane FontaineComposer:
Alex SomersCast:
Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Annalise Basso, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks, Samantha Isler, Charlie Shotwell, Frank Langella, Ann Dowd, Steve Zahn (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father (Viggo Mortensen) devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent. (Entertainment One)
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Reviews (13)
Back in my day, The Addams Family used to be a comedy. Cynicism aside, though, because this is such a perverse midcult that a few of its pernicious aspects need to be listed. Primary among them is the appalling hypocrisy, in the name of which the film masquerades as an anti-mainstream alternative, but uses virtually every means to appeal to the widest audience, including the last dumbass in the back of the theater, for whom most Sundance films are otherwise a junkie bore about nothing. Indeed, the film carefully monitors the length of each scene lest it accidentally become boring, repeatedly demonstrates the glorified otherness of the Cash family through food, permanently rips the over-smart kids to shreds as evidence of superiority, and, most importantly, doesn't allow the protagonist to see his missteps from anyone but himself. This questionable aspect, however, is never capitalized upon critically, but only melodramatically. To see him as a dangerous, idealistic fool who, despite everything, deserves our appreciation through his diligence and conviction, is impossible; it thus arouses a provocative ambivalence, because for over half of the running time he fulfills the role of messiah, and the film gives him credit for being right by putting only obstacles in his way that he can use to demonstrate his truth. So much that, as a result of the isolation, the traumatic experience of his eighteen-year-old son's first love is rendered as a humorous cutesy scene, one of the many colors of their unbridled ride through America. The seemingly interesting concept of a post-hippie commune in response to consumer society is thus watered down into a mishmash of topics to be discussed by moms over a shelf of fair trade food with a baby strapped to their chest and three credit cards in an embroidered bag with Peruvian motifs.
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A unique example of a film that impresses me and pisses me off in a single minute, but it's hard to resist the fact that acting and directing sometimes dragged me to the side of this Platonic idealism mixed with peppery ideological goulash. Manipulative yes, clueless at the end, but at the level of the intimate story of a tyrannical father and emancipating children, but the film is not far from the much purer and simpler magic of Fierce Creatures. Mortensen? This guy is not in the top league. He established his own a long time ago. He carries the film to a large extent despite all the considerable problems. An inspiring mix of resistance and sympathy. [75%]
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Thematically similar to Wild and Into The Wild, i.e. an individual with different views, attitudes and philosophy of life, going against the established practices and standards of modern society. It's a bit of an agitprop for organic life, a bit of a tribute to the hippies and a bit of a backwoods romp. Most of all, though, it's a surprisingly functional family drama about unconventional family practices and a different approach to life that's very raw in some scenes while brilliantly contrasting the typically capitalist mannerisms of the contemporary bourgeoisie, a superbly typecast American middle class, and a family of pragmatic, penniless scrappers living in the woods who are seemingly depraved in every way, but not really. The greatest virtue is that the director manages to put all these typologically selected life practices into one plane and extracts the positives and negatives from both in equal measure. So, in the end, the viewer is served with a plethora of consistent, very interesting opinions and scenes that are entertaining in their inner charge, thought-provoking message, and are healthily spiced with great acting performances. Thankfully it clearly doesn't side with nature, whereas the older brothers have it in their name and it's clear what it looks like afterwards. Mortensen and co are nuts, but they have brains, they know why they're doing it and you root for them.
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No world is complete until it encounters other worlds. Liberation of food and the dead, Santa Chomsky, self-awareness worse than unconscious selfishness, and deviations from the chosen path reveal the thin line between pretense and conviction. When there is left-wing anarchist resistance against capitalism, it has to be done in a pedaled bus! Alex Somers, with a hint of Sigur Rós, provides a fitting audio component, while Mortensen, even while showing a pair of elderly folks a small Dúnedain, offers stimulating ambivalence. His final scene at the dinner table bears a certain parallel to that in A History of Violence. The past is gone yet forever with us.
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51st KVIFF - completely off the mark. In a rational person, the “funny” sequences will probably arouse concern and fear. That psychopath commanding a radical, potentially terrorist cell in the forest should end up behind bars, instead of back in the family circle in the style of “we all love each other”. When it looks like the voice of reason will prevail (Frank Langella’s), it ends up being flushed down the toilet. I’m allergic to this alternative stuff, so I was hostile against this film from the beginning. The rating might be too harsh, but it comes from the heart. If you feel otherwise, you’ll be satisfied.
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