Review: ‘Captain Fantastic’ a fabulous philosophical adventure on education

Very rarely does cinema, especially cinema dedicated to the masses, dare to be courageous and critical, not only with its audience, but with the system. And even less, without being condescending or pedantic at times. ‘Captain Fantastic’ is that adventure that combines philosophy with a strong family drama.

It must be said that ‘fantastic captain’ It is a comic film premiered in 2016, and since then, commentary on the Matt Ross-directed film, starring Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings), George MacKay (1917) and Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), among others. It is now available on Amazon Prime Video and Star +.

Since then, the film has gained a lot of popularity among the public, despite the fact that at the time, even with good reviews, it went a little unnoticed by the general public. But by exposing himself to a much wider audience, the comments have varied and now his opinion is very different.

The story of ‘fantastic captain’ it is a very unusual comedy, reminiscent of the spirit of ‘My Little Miss Sunshine’, and has little to do with director Matt Ross’s previous films, such as ’28 Hotel Rooms’, or the ‘Sillicon Valley’ series. But before we continue, let’s talk about the history of this title.

What is the story of “Captain Fantastic” about?

The history of ‘fantastic captain’ follow Ben (Viggo Mortensen), father of a family who, after the death of his wife, decides to take his children to the forest, to raise them away from the capitalist system. The little ones are Kielyr, Vespyr, Bo, Zaja and Nai, who have never been in contact with the rest of society.

Ben prepares his children with anti-capitalist ideologies from an early age, and they are prepared for any adversity in the forest, from hunting for their own food, to knowing how to survive an accident of any kind. In addition, they are also educated with advanced knowledge in all types of fields.

Although young people are more knowledgeable than the university population, none of them know how to live in society. The death of the mother is the excuse to take them with the rest of the family to the funeral, and expose themselves to behaviors and behaviors they have never been aware of.

Just to see the kids understand a world totally different from the one they know and the dynamics that are generated between each member of the family, it is worth seeing ‘Captain Fantastic’, an exhilarating adventure. However, Matt Ross does not forget the dramas and aspirations of his characters.

Each of the children has aspirations and desires to know the world they did not know, and this creates in them the worry, for example, of going to college, of having the kind of ordinary parents or of sexuality. Something that, far from criticizing or making fun of the same, he deals with in an intelligent and mature way.

‘Capitán Fantástico’ does not hide his critical intentions and reflection on the spaces and behaviors of daily life in a capitalist system, while he sees the weaknesses of living as protagonists. Therefore, a few years after its premiere, it is still an essential work for forming critical thinking.