Captain Fantastic (2016)
2016
R
118 Minutes
A father living in the forests of the Pacific Northwest with his six young kids tries to assimilate back into society.
User Review
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Captain Fantastic is, wait for it, fantastic. It's not often I watch a light hearted feel good film, they don't tend to stick in my cinephile brain. This though, is pretty much spectacular. A family living in the wilderness have to come to terms with their mother's death and so choose to go to her funeral in New Mexico, on the way exploring themselves and America. So it's half a road trip film and a coming of age story. There are so many good contrasts here, the main one being the social commentary on America and urban life. The shopping, obesity, manufactured food...all of the things that we have gotten used to, I found it interesting to see the perspective of a family who aren't familiar with these. This family essentially have their own society, their own rules. Each member is smart, tactile and have great survival instincts...but of course are not adapted to the modern world. It's an intriguing perspective as you feel that the father is doing what is best but then you also see the negatives to isolating yourself from society, it's a good topic for a debate. With regards to acting, Viggo Mortensen once again gives a terrific performance, it really goes to show how good of an actor he is. I'm emotionally invested in him, he can show a sense of vulnerability and power and the same time. In fact, every cast member here is brilliant...no bad performances. The script was quirky, concise and full of character development. There are a lot of characters here so to fully expand them in two hours is quite the accomplishment. The cinematography was stunning, so many beautiful landscape shots. With many films in this genre, there are some comedic moments and fortunately they do not feel forced in this, it all felt natural. Whilst the film did not blow me away, it still is an excellent story with memorable characters and terrific performances. Highly recommend that you watch this.1 member likes this review.
