![]() What I love so much about Captain Fantastic (2016, Matt Ross) is that it gives us a kind of imaginary laboratory experiment where we can see how children raised outside of a capitalist/consumerist environment reach their human potential, albeit with some dysfunction mixed in (more on this in a moment). There's also a slipcover provided.Despite a couple of moments in the film that I had issues with, overall, I loved Captain Fantastic (just watched it last night), a refreshingly transgressive mainstream film that is both thoroughly thought provoking political commentary and just a delight! It comes in a standard keepcase with a code for a Digital Copy. There's a happy medium to be reached and that's what Ben must come to realize. What television is doing to their brains and how best to get them to read books instead. It makes you wonder about your own kids and how you're raising them. However, there are many moments of genuine reflection and discovery. There are some aspects of 'Captain Fantastic' that scream festival film. The kids are broken up about their mother's death so the whole family jumps in the family bus (because of course they have a family bus) and drive down to New Mexico to attend the funeral. At that point where do they meet other people to associate with? Other people to love? Other people to interact with? While this life appears to be freeing it's also dangerously isolated. This type of life isn't sustainable, unless all the children simply want to continue living in the woods after they come of age. Ben treats his family like a pod of possessions. Then there's the idea that while this life Ben has crafted for his kids provides knowledge and self-discovery, it doesn't provide societal structure and preparation for what's to come. It's startling because you might find yourself wondering, "What would my kids say if I asked them what the Bill of Rights is?" Whereas, Ben's youngest child, Nai (Charlie Shotwell), is an eight-year-old who can not only recite the amendments, but who can give an impromptu dissertation on the philosophy behind the amendments. The cousins are in high school and can't even explain what the Bill of Rights is. When they go to visit their cousins, we see them engrossed in video games, heads buried in screens at the dinner table. ![]() His kids are much smarter than the average child. Matt Ross's film, which premiered at this year's Sundance, attempts to draw stark lines between ways of life. Ben doesn't sugarcoat the realities of their predicament. Something about Ben's way of life sent her over the edge and a depression took over. The family's mother, Leslie (Trin Miller), has killed herself. He's smart as a whip and has been accepted to every ivy league college in the country, but when it comes to personal communication with those outside his family, he's sorely lacking. His oldest son Bo (George MacKay) is painfully socially awkward. His children aren't ready for what life is like out there. Yet, Ben's plan has an unintended dark side. There's something liberating about watching someone freed from the shackles of suburbia. If you can manage to get past the water-rationing (one shower a week), ratty clothes, and climbing sheer rock cliffs with a broken hand. There's an enticing way about their life. Ben seemingly has everything covered without subjecting his kids to the capitalist nightmare that awaits them out in the world. They live off the land, study philosophy, learn advanced mathematics, and practice how to skin deer. ![]() Is it conceivable that a family can live separated from society in this globalized world? Or, is it impossible to envision such a dream? That's what Ben (Viggo Mortensen) must come to know.īen lives deep in the forest of the Pacific Northwest with his band of six children. 'Captain Fantastic' tells a story of two extremes and if it's possible to live at either end.
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