“Captain Fantastic” is truly a unique movie experience which you must take in deep.
Sure, this film is not that much perfect. Sure, the screenplay takes some questionable turns at some singular moments. But it is damn energetic and absolutely unapologetic!
In other words – I loved it! It seems that last year was a really god year for films after all. I am surprised by the variety of movies which surprised me, evoking the whole spectrum of emotions from the inner and outer cosmos.
And “Captain Fantastic” is the newest addition to this list of special experiences which make our lives richer. The film from Matt Ross is a beautiful nod both to a long gone social movement and to our newly found 21st Century new age way of life. I am really, really impressed by the cast. Wonderful performances from Viggo Mortensen and the whole ensemble of his “children” (watch out in the future again for: George MacKay, Samantha Isler, Annalise Basso, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks and Charlie Shotwell). This “family” invigorates the viewer with fresh voices speaking of freedom, change and at the same time of social and family values which we all tend to forget on a daily basis.
Mortensen’s character is both arrogant and loving to everybody around him which makes him really a nicely developed controversial person. It is refreshing for every viewer see such qualities together. I myself felt questioning many of the choices which I make as a parent. Which is a wise nod from the director to us all. Close community living and modern life technologies clash in front of the hippie background.
The emotional connection is beautifully shot, using the metaphor of travel as the ultimate vessel for overpowering oneself. Any back to nature spirit will find something for itself in this movie. I think that this film is a carefully polished heartfelt jewel giving us a glimpse of what an emotional crisis looks like from a more subtle and graceful point of view.
What touches us in this comedic drama is the thought-provoking youth performance which resonates with our every day struggle to find all the right answers to the question: What it really means to be a parent…