In making the film Ross also took autobiographical moments from his own life, notably being raised in what he termed as "alternative-living communities". He wondered what would happen if he were "completely present" in his children's lives while noting that modern technology had made that difficult. The film was conceived by its writer and director, Matt Ross, as he began questioning the choices he and his wife were making as parents. The final scene shows the family eating breakfast around the kitchen table with their father, waiting for the school bus to arrive. Bodevan then leaves the family to travel through Namibia, while the rest settle into a more "real world" life on a farm. Exhuming her corpse, they burn it on a funeral pyre then flush her ashes down an airport toilet. The children desire to honor Leslie's final wishes, and persuade Ben to help them. Although the children bond with their grandparents, they quietly decide to follow Ben and reunite with him. Ben, shocked and guilty, allows Jack to take his children. When one of Ben's older twin daughters Vespyr tries to clandestinely exfiltrate Rellian from their grandparents on Ben's orders, she falls from the roof and narrowly avoids breaking her neck. Rellian runs away to live with his grandparents, who want custody of all the children. Ben relents at his children's insistence that they cannot lose both of their parents. Ben follows the funeral procession to the cemetery, planning to intercede despite a police presence and Jack's threat to have him arrested. Ben tries to convince Jack to respect Leslie's wishes, to no avail. In response, Jack has Ben forcibly removed from the church. Later on their road trip, some of Ben's children start to doubt him and his parenting skills, with his second eldest son and middle child Rellian accusing him of failing to treat Leslie's mental health, and eldest son Bodevan accusing him of not equipping them for the real world, showing him acceptance letters from several top Ivy League colleges to which Leslie had helped him apply.īen arrives at Leslie's funeral with their children and reads her will, which instructs her family to cremate her and flush her ashes down a toilet. She and her husband try to convince Ben that the children should attend school to receive a conventional education in response, Ben quizzes Harper's children and his children on various topics, illustrating that his children are better educated and embarrassing Harper and her husband. The family briefly stays at the home of Ben's sister-in-law, Harper. Ben initially decides not to go and prevents his children from doing so, but then changes his mind, driving his children across the country on a repurposed school bus. They argue over the phone, and Jack threatens to have Ben arrested if he attends the funeral. She dies by suicide while undergoing treatment and Ben learns that her father Jack plans to hold a Christian burial despite Leslie being a philosophical Buddhist who abhorred religion. The children are accustomed to reading many forms of college-level literature, and, while showing high aptitude and intelligence beyond their years, they are socially awkward as they have not been socialized with the outside world.īen has been raising the children on his own while Leslie is hospitalized in New Mexico for bipolar disorder, away from her family and near her wealthy elitist parents. They are raised to coexist with nature, are given unique names, and celebrate Noam Chomsky's birthday instead of Christmas. They educate them to think critically, and train them to be physically fit, athletic, and self-reliant without dependence on modern technology. They are former left-wing anarchist activists disillusioned with capitalism and American life, who choose to instill survivalist skills and left-wing politics and philosophy in their children. Plot īen Cash, his wife Leslie, and their six children live an isolated existence on ten acres in the mountainous Washington wilderness. It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten independent films of 2016 and Mortensen was nominated for the Golden Globe, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actor. It was theatrically released on July 8, 2016, by Bleecker Street. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016. The story centers on a family forced by circumstances to reintegrate into society after living in isolation for a decade. Captain Fantastic is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, and Steve Zahn.
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