Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen), his wife Leslie and their six children live deep in the wilderness of Washington state. Isolated from society, Ben and Leslie devote their existence to raising their kids -- educating them to think critically, training them to be physically fit and athletic, guiding them in the wild without technology and demonstrating the beauty of co-existing with nature. When Leslie dies suddenly, Ben must take his sheltered offspring into the outside world for the first time.
As someone who has completed both an undergraduate degree and postgraduate diploma in environmental sciences at university, who also holds a strong dislike towards the idolising of vapid celebrities like the Kardashians, Captain Fantastic is a film that I vibe strongly with. The knowledge that the current education systems are insufficient, and that people have lost their connection to where their food comes from, and from nature itself, has oftentimes had me dreaming of winning the lottery so that I could purchase a property, fence it off, and live in isolation.
Captain Fantastic does just that. Disenchanted with capitalism, this former-activist couple has moved into the wilderness and raised their six children there, educating them how they see fit, ensuring they have the survival skills to catch their own meals, coexisting with nature. A scenario that feels too good to be true to those that are also disillusioned with the so-called successful results of the democratic capitalist system.
Of course, a tragedy causes this family to venture out of the wilderness into civilization and as most fish-out-of-water scenarios go, we get a lot of laughs as the children encounter new technology and behaviours, at the same time discovering how little they actually know about the "outside" world.
The film is brilliant because it challenges the norm. As the year's pass, we are moving further and further from the hunters that the human race once was. Nowadays if social media crashes, would we have a way to contact friends? If the supermarket were to close would we know how to grow or hunt for our own meat? If power stations were to fail, would we know how to make fires without matches and lighters? Without Google, would we know the answer to any questions? There is definitely an argument to be made that thanks to the current systems in place around the world, the human race has lost its ability to be self-reliant. We rely on corporations to provide for us.
So it begs the question, is Ben Cash a good father or not? Ben has taught his children a completely different curriculum that helps them survive in the wilderness. But as his children's knowledge comes from nothing but books, there is a large portion of the civilized world that they remain ignorant to. What is the best way to raise children? In the wilderness or in a conventional school?
The film brings these questions to the audience, as it introduces the Cash family to their move conventional relatives and direct comparisons can be made to each family's style of parenting. Neither parent comes out of these exchanges with a perfect score, and Captain Fantastic does a great job balancing both parenting styles, which leaves the audience constantly second-guessing what the best choice for these children is.
The film does well with respects to balancing tone also. There are some very heavy themes at play in Captain Fantastic and it really pushes the ideals of honesty to the extreme with the Cash family. But it is conveyed in such a stark, almost clinical manner, that it is still able to turn a dark topic into a source of comedy.
Viggo Mortensen is the stand-out performance. Faced with a difficult task of raising six children, you can see the consternation and hesitation with every decision that he has to make, and it makes for a thoroughly authentic emotional ride.
Captain Fantastic is surprisingly earnest and endearing, and it raises a lot of questions about the systems that we accept without thinking critically about. Brutal honesty and some engaging performances from the children form the foundation of a heartwarming flick that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.