Captain Fantastic

A unique example of a film that impresses me and pisses me off in a single minute, but it's hard to resist the fact that acting and directing sometimes dragged me to the side of this Platonic idealism mixed with peppery ideological goulash. Manipulative yes, clueless at the end, but at the level of the intimate story of a tyrannical father and emancipating children, but the film is not far from the much purer and simpler magic of Fierce Creatures. Mortensen? This guy is not in the top league. He established his own a long time ago. He carries the film to a large extent despite all the considerable problems. An inspiring mix of resistance and sympathy. [75%] (23/07/2016)

51st KVIFF - completely off the mark. In a rational person, the “funny” sequences will probably arouse concern and fear. That psychopath commanding a radical, potentially terrorist cell in the forest should end up behind bars, instead of back in the family circle in the style of “we all love each other”. When it looks like the voice of reason will prevail (Frank Langella’s), it ends up being flushed down the toilet. I’m allergic to this alternative stuff, so I was hostile against this film from the beginning. The rating might be too harsh, but it comes from the heart. If you feel otherwise, you’ll be satisfied. (08/07/2016)

An indie film in a highly addictive presentation. It has beautiful performances (perhaps Aragorn deserves a major award), with a catchy narration and topped off with a big idea that the filmmakers manage to sell almost perfectly. I'm not saying that I wouldn't also occasionally love go somewhere in the middle of uninhabited forests, away from religious fanaticism, gluttony, social chaos and greed, and then read how to behave on a first amorous encounter (and the resulting knowledge would undoubtedly be as useless to me as my current ignorance), and I would play the uplifting country version of “Sweet Child O'Mine”... Not as free-thinking as its heroes, but certainly a playful and inspiring work that deserves universal attention and respect. 85% (26/12/2016)

Agitprop? Nope. Perhaps at first glance, it’s a clueless-looking road movie in the end, but without unnecessary pathos it both praises and denounces the strength of family togetherness, which can reconcile the pitfalls of socialism and the exploitation of capitalism. This will still mature intellectually. 4 ½. (10/10/2016)

I ignored this one for a long time, but after watching it I'm almost tempted to go up to 5 stars. I don't think anyone will forget this family that has lived in the woods for 10 years. The parenting style was very unconventional and I think it could have easily been functional. Viggo Mortensen was absolutely amazing and his intellectual dialogues took my breath away at times, every dialogue is a powerful and thought-provoking thing. The kids were Oscar-worthy and the knowledge that 8 year old girl has of politics and law made my chin drop. Very good in places and perversely funny. 85%. (10/03/2017)