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)
An indie film in a highly addictive presentation. It has beautiful performances (perhaps Aragorn deserves a major award), with a catchy narration and topped off with a big idea that the filmmakers manage to sell almost perfectly. I'm not saying that I wouldn't also occasionally love go somewhere in the middle of uninhabited forests, away from religious fanaticism, gluttony, social chaos and greed, and then read how to behave on a first amorous encounter (and the resulting knowledge would undoubtedly be as useless to me as my current ignorance), and I would play the uplifting country version of “Sweet Child O'Mine”... Not as free-thinking as its heroes, but certainly a playful and inspiring work that deserves universal attention and respect. 85%
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This typical “Sundance movie” is a feel-good tragicomedy with a nice soundtrack, eccentric but likeable characters and a predictable ending. The raw opening scene depicting the first of a series of rituals aimed at preparing Bodevan for his entry into adulthood gives the viewer hope that Captain Fantastic will be more truthful than ingratiating, while not offering any wonderfully easy solutions to complex problems. But from a celebration of life outside of the system that strips people of their individuality, the film soon collapses into a hackneyed story about the necessity of socialisation and respect for social conventions. The characters may not be willing to accept the norms of the world that they have scorned for so long without question, but their transformation is still tied to their subordination to the dominant ideology. Though the director sensitively spreads the attention among all of the members of the family, led by Mortensen’s practically perfect protagonist (whose mythologisation, already evident in the film’s title, is not problematised by Ross), he cannot disguise the fact that his characters serve mainly as walking arguments in support of the conservative idea of the importance of a happy family. Thanks to its pleasing shot compositions, slightly cynical humour, reasonable amount of pathos and well-timed use of upbeat music, the film evokes the intended emotions, but these quickly fade, because Captain Fantastic is not built on a convincing foundation. We can believe neither in the characters, who too easily give up everything they have fought so long and hard for, nor, because of that, in the would-be non-conformist, anti-consumerist message. 70%
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I ignored this one for a long time, but after watching it I'm almost tempted to go up to 5 stars. I don't think anyone will forget this family that has lived in the woods for 10 years. The parenting style was very unconventional and I think it could have easily been functional. Viggo Mortensen was absolutely amazing and his intellectual dialogues took my breath away at times, every dialogue is a powerful and thought-provoking thing. The kids were Oscar-worthy and the knowledge that 8 year old girl has of politics and law made my chin drop. Very good in places and perversely funny. 85%.
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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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An independent American road movie that goes against the global system every one of us lives in and more or less functions. It actually tells a story of a family that calls itself Trockians and that bought a piece of land in some Canadian forest. There they built two wooden buildings and live there happily, educate themselves and all in all, are very proactive. Well, and after the movie started with a pretty brutal scene (a hunt), it slowed down quite pleasantly afterward. But throughout, the movie confronts the world of the family (a dad and 6 children) in the middle of the mountains, forests, and rivers with our world and how much we are distancing ourselves from nature. Even though we arose from it. So I understood fully the director’s intentions who, for example, illustrates how today’s kids have fun and learn with the example of 2 consumerist children. Computer games, violence, and phones. All the while they know nothing about the world. This doesn’t mean I am agreeing with Viggo Mortensen, who gave an otherworldly performance but also tried a different, completely opposite extreme. There is everything in the movie. Great camera work, locations, music, all acting performances… I actually don’t know why I did not give it a full score. Maybe because their life in the wilderness was too idealized. It actually looked better than any Czech cottage. Finally, I want to thank the creators of Scope100 and Aerofilms that I had the chance to see this movie in the Bio Oko cinema. Thanks.
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