Although they have bonded with their grandparents, the children decide to follow Ben again when he departs. Cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine (best known for his work with Jacques Audiard) balances the beauty of the landscape against the toughness of the children’s lives, while Courtney Hoffman’s magpie costumes tell their own stories, from Ben’s poignantly dated wedding suit to the skins, patchworks and hand-me-downs that adorn the kids. The children honor Leslie's wish and convince Ben to help them, exhuming her corpse, burning it in a self-made pyre and flushing her ashes down an airport toilet. Viggo Mortensen leads an outstanding cast as a grizzled rural eccentric who hits the road with his brood of home-schooled, off-grid children, Last modified on Wed 21 Mar 2018 23.59 GMT. Ben's children also start doubting their father and his parenting skills. 2020 Bustle Digital Group. Elsewhere, Ross superbly segues from the soporific elevator tones of My Heart Will Go On to Bikini Kill’s Rebel Girl during an outrageous supermarket sweep. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016. The family briefly stays at the house of Ben’s sister Harper. Rellian wants to live with his grandparents, who want to take custody of him. movie comes wholly from writer/director Matt Ross, Ross drew from his own experiences growing up. [4] It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. By day they hunt for food and scale rocky cliffs; at night they read The Brothers Karamazov and Middlemarch, while earnestly discussing Marxism and Noam Chomsky. [4][21] The film was released on July 8, 2016. The final scene shows the family around the kitchen table with their father, waiting for the school bus to arrive. We open with George MacKay’s mud-covered Bodevan “Bo” Cash (“our names are unique; there’s only one of us in the whole world…”) tracking and killing a deer, prompting his father, the Bear Grylls-like Ben, to announce: “Today the boy is dead, and in his place is a man.” Bo is one of six brothers and sisters, aged seven to 18, who have been raised to fend, fight, and think for themselves in these woods. [5][6] It was theatrically released on July 8, 2016 by Bleecker Street. With its thrillingly life-affirming performances, it’s a shame that Captain Fantastic’s “strong language” has earned it a 15 certificate; there’s more here for adolescent audiences to enjoy and appreciate than in much 12-rated blockbuster fare. "[29], Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association, "Sundance Institute Completes Feature Film Lineup For 2016 Sundance Film Festival", "2016 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup", "Cannes 2016: Film Festival Unveils Official Selection Lineup", "National Board of Review Announces 2016 Award Winners", "Golden Globes 2017: The Complete List of Nominations", "Oscar Nominations 2017: Viggo Mortensen on 'Captain Fantastic' Nod", "This Silicon Valley Actor Made One of the Strangest and Most Beautiful Films of the Summer", https://deadline.com/2014/02/viggo-mortensen-to-star-in-electric-citys-captain-fantastic-686564, "Viggo Mortensen Starrer 'Captain Fantastic' Adds Cast Of Youngsters", "Frank Langella To Star With Viggo Mortensen In 'Captain Fantastic, "Viggo Mortensen filming in upper Sky Valley", "Whatcom County has scenic role in new film, 'Captain Fantastic, "The Week in Movies: Pac Northwest movies at Sundance 2016, Oscar-nominated shorts in Portland", "eOne Takes International On Captain Fantastic, Zahn, Hahn, Pyle, Moriarty Join Film | Deadline", "Toronto: Former Focus Co-CEO Andrew Karpen Launches New Distribution Company", ‘Olli Mäki,’ ‘Captain Fantastic’ Win Big in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, "Captain Fantastic' Sundance Review: Viggo Mortensen Raises an Off-the-Grid Family in This Touching Dramedy", "Denzel Washington's 'Fences' Leads Nominations for AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards", "Oscars: 'La La Land' Ties Record With 14 Nominations", "BAFTA Awards: 'La La Land' Leads Nominations", "Hell or High Water at Cannes Film Festival", "La La Land Leads with 12 Nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards", "Evening Standard British Film Awards - The Longlist", "Houston Film Critics Nominations for 2016 Films", "2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced! But as for the hippie-like father of the film and the wilderness setting, Ross drew from his own experiences growing up, since he was raised in part on various anti-establishment communes. [26] Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "Boasting half a dozen impressive youth performances alongside a leading role that takes full advantage of Mortensen's own sensitive, back-to-nature spirit, Captain Fantastic easily ranks among the most polished and relatable of this year's Sundance offerings. [25], Alonso Duralde of TheWrap gave the film a positive review, saying "The movie really belongs to Mortensen, who allows Ben to be exasperating, arrogant and impatient but also warm, loving and caring. "[27], In a negative review from The Guardian Peter Bradshaw writes "There's a meaty whiff of phoney-baloney in this fatuous and tiresome movie, replete with forced emotional crises and wrong notes, topped off with an excruciatingly unearned, sentimental ending. The comedy/drama is about a man who raises his six children deep in the woods of Washington in their own small utopian society, until he is forced to take them into the real world for the first time, where they face endless challenges and questions. [11], Viggo Mortensen was cast in February 2014. Bodevan then leaves the family to travel through Namibia, while the rest settle on a farm. Family fantastic: from left, Shree Crooks, Charlie Shotwell, George MacKay, Nicholas Hamilton, Samantha Isler and Annalise Basso. Ross, whose own upbringing involved communes in northern California and Oregon, says that his film asks whether Ben is “the best father in the world or the worst” and Mortensen does a terrific job of keeping both possibilities alive. In this respect, the main character is my fantasy of myself and the film is aspirational. Ben Cash and his wife Leslie and their six children live in the Washington wilderness. While smoke from the narrative pyre signals both Grand Theft Parsons and What We Did on Our Holiday, this is closer in tone to the anarchic indie spirit of Jordan Vogt-Roberts’s wonderful The Kings of Summer with which it shares both an anarchic rural streak and a melancholic existential ennui. The new film Captain Fantastic may sound like it's the next big budget superhero blockbuster, but it is in fact something wildly different and unique. They argue over the phone and Jack threatens to have Ben arrested if he attends the funeral. Despite its seemingly realistic storyline, Captain Fantastic is totally made up. [7] It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten independent films of 2016[8] and Mortensen was nominated for the Golden Globe, the BAFTA Award,[9] and the Academy Award for Best Actor.[10]. All rights reserved. He's a tough but adoring father, a grieving widower and a passionate defender of his wife's final wishes, and Mortensen plays all these notes and more with subtlety and grace". Either ‘the best father in the world or the worst’... Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic. Meanwhile, Ann Dowd and Frank Langella lend depth to the role of grieving parents whose animosity towards Ben becomes ever more understandable. The parents have passed their socialist and survivalist ideals to their children. A pointed discussion of Nabokov with Ben’s super-smart kids flags up the question of how loving or abusive his parenting may be, leaving our own sympathies divided. Ben considers most of Western society to be fascist, especially corporate America. Every parent wants their child to have a happy, fulfilling life and wants to prepare their child for the challenges of life. he actor turned writer-director Matt Ross insists his appropriation of an.