Captain Fantastic

Aesthetically on high-level, questioning the most important points of human life and importance of verbal, mental, physical, social, emotional development and the inability of developing them all on the same level. There are so many factors that influence one's development. And there is space for many mistakes.

High quality acting. Viggo Mortensen gives one of his best performances, a devoted father that wants only the best for his kids, an authority, a leader, a teacher, loving, loyal husband, a grieving human with tough, determined, honest attitude he transmits to his children. Kids, from the youngest to the oldest, act with such naturalness that you simply dive in this masterfully-made journey.

Film doesn't show how one should live and not live because both sides are flawed. Internal and external conflicts make you question the reality of the present, giving you space to find your own balance of how one should live.

I personally started thinking of how there is a massive space for improvement in every field of our lives. An example is school. And how devastating it is that one could neglect the knowledge at that extant. Kids need to be inspired and motivated to learn. And more important is that they have to build inner-motivation that will make them interested and ambitious as they improve the world around them. And of course kids can't be accused for not wanting to learn if the teachers don't show them how and why to love their subject. And of course parents to support them.

This (above) is just one point of where this movie has taken my entranced mind.

This is a movie for every generation. It needs to be noticed, it deserves to be talked about, and discussed. Because that is the point of Captain Fantastic.

Greetings again from the darkness. There seems to be no end to the theories on how to be an effective parent and raise kids who are productive, well-adjusted and successful. Writer/director Matt Ross offers up a creative, entertaining and thought-provoking story of one family's unconventional approach in a world that seems to expect and accept only the conventional.

We are first introduced to Ben (Viggo Mortensen) and his six kids as they are stalking a deer while deep in the Pacific Northwest forest … only this isn't your buddy's weekend deer hunting trip. Each family member is covered head-to-toe in mud and other means of camouflage, and the oldest son Bodevan (George MacKay) takes the lead with his knife in what is presented as a rite of passage into manhood.

The family carries out a daily ritual that includes extreme physical conditioning, lessons on survival and living off the land, and advanced education that includes reading such diverse material as Dostoevsky and Lolita. Each evening is capped off with an impromptu musical jam. It's evident that self-sufficiency, intelligence and family loyalty are crucial to Ben's approach … an approach that is challenged when circumstances require the family board their Partridge Family bus (named Steve) and take a cross-country road trip into a civilization that doesn't know what to make of them (and vice-versa).

The film is jam-packed with social commentary on education, parenting, societal norms, societal influences, and even grief. Who gets to decide what is best for a family or what's the best method for education? Sometimes the dysfunctional family isn't so easy to identify. Director Ross proves this in a gem of a dinner table scene as Ben and the kids visit Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn and their two sons in suburbia.

In addition to the terrific performance by up-and-comer George MacKay, the other actors playing the kids are all very strong and believable: Samantha Isler as Kieyler, Annalise Basso as Vespyr, Nicholas Hamilton as Rellian, Shree Crooks as Zaja, and Charlie Shotwell as Nai. Screen vets Frank Langella and Ann Dowd bring presence to the role of their grandparents and provide the greatest contrast to the off-the-grid existence of the kids.

Viggo Mortensen truly shines here and gives a performance full of grace and depth as he displays many emotions (some of which aren't so pleasant). He even goes full-Viggo for one of the film's many humorous moments … though the comedy is balanced by plenty of full scale drama. His best work comes in the scenes when he begins to question that there may be some flaws in his plan … the moments of self-realization are stunning.

Many will note some similarities between this film and Little Miss Sunshine (2006), though this one carries quite a bit more heft. It's beautifully photographed by cinematographer Stephane Fontaine (A Prophet, Rust and Bone) and captures the danger and solitude of the forest, while also capturing the more personal family dynamics. It's a film that should generate plenty of discussion, and one of the questions is … will Noam Chomsky Day ever match Festivus in popularity?

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Henry David Thoreau

I just happen to be reading Henry David Thoreau's book Walden for a philosophy club. When I saw this trailer I told myself I had to see this before it left my city. The similarity between the book Walden and this film are pretty high. With similar topics of arguments against commercialism and full industrialism. Then throw on top a yearning for spiritual truth and self-reliance. Still, this isn't just a stick your middle finger at the system film. It's way more than that.

Matt Ross has an interesting meditation on what it means to live outside society in America. He shows a couple reasons why someone would do this and show the pros and cons in a very interesting way. The views evolve as the story moves on. Such is life eh?

Viggo Mortensen acting is amazing in this role. With that said, don't overlook Jack (Frank Langella) acting in the film. For a good portion of the film, we only see the point of view from the family and mostly Ben (Viggo Mortensen) at that. But later in the film, you see Jack's motives too. I can see why he acted the way he did and I may have done this same if I was in his spot too.

Bo (George MacKay) gets a couple good scenes too. It's great to see him fumble through interactions throughout the film and to discover what he wants out of adult life. This may or may not conflict with what his dad wants.

I highly recommend this film and can't wait to see what Matt Ross does in the future. If this film comes to your town do yourself a favour and see it. Clever films are rare and need to be supported.

Very well crafted and acted film. And it's just short of a masterpiece. But most reviewers here missed the obvious: Ben is a totalitarian monster.

Kielyr explains the movie to us when forced by her dad to explicate Lolita. And Ben finally sees it himself in the end: "It was a beautiful mistake."

This movie challenges lots of things that we wrongfully take for granted in today's society. Mortensen is brilliant for yet another time and all the cast is simply breathtaking.

The concept of the movie and the backstory were brilliant. A touching movie, heartwarming and brilliant all along. A father that although strict and sometimes military like, who's also artistic and deeply sentimental. An amazing depiction from Vigo Mortensen. Amazing.

A movie that in a simple but yet elegant way depicts all the things that have altered our society and brings forth lots of the things that really matter. It makes us think about the ways we were raised and rethink the ways in which we want our children to be raised.

This is a movie well worth your time. One of the best movies I have watched in 2016, by far!