An unconventional parenthood in "Captain Fantastic"

The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "nature-man" can achieve some form of "enlightenment" through a kind of "social contract" - that is, when one enters into society. But for the patriarch in Matt Ross' "Captain Fantastic" (2016, USA), winner of the Un Certain Regard Best Director in this year's Cannes, this seems to function in reverse: true enlightenment can be experienced when one completely shuns him/herself from the hypocritical/superficial/consumerist trappings of modern civilization. This is something which is actually more in keeping with the Greek philosopher Plato's Cave, the dwellers of which must always ensure that they are not deceived by the "illusory" or "artificial" knowledge that can seep in from the "outside". 

This concept is something that can be pretty much alienating or strange to mainstream moviegoers, being applied as it is within the context of a family in the film. But thanks to the emotionally-engaging performances, anchored by Viggo Mortensen as the unconventional patriarch Ben Cash, and the confident and courageous direction by Ross, we are not totally lost in the film's complex insights. The opening aerial shot of lush-green mountain trees primarily invites us into the kind of "home" that Ben and his wife (who, as we eventually learn, had undergone hospital treatment and then committed suicide) have provided for their six children. It's organic, elemental and natural, not so much removed from the so-called real world - with all its conventions, hypocrisies, commercialism and inhibitions - as unfettered by it. A back-to-nature spirit essentially imbues their lives. 

No matter how unusual the set-up may look, we still can't help but be entranced by its apparent freedom, enlightenment and self-sufficiency. The conviction with which Ben champions his kind of parenting whenever someone argues against it is utterly admirable and persuasive: why make an annual celebration of a "fictional elf" instead of a "real person" who actually gave a valuable contribution to humanity or isn't it lamentable how our children are really growing up to be ignorant of their own basic constitutional rights? We have here a parent who is dead serious in thinking of what is radically best for his children. But then, the others' concern about Ben's off-the-grid child-rearing isn't entirely unjustifiable. There's still something disturbing seeing the children climbing up a very dangerous cliff (with one of them nearly falling off) or stealing from a supermarket or being given deadly weapons for their use or the youngest one asking questions about rape and sexual intercourse or about him seeing his father completely nude in front of strangers. Then there's also the question about his wife's death which may have something to do with her realization that the children ultimately need to be brought up in the "real world". 

How we just wish that we could've witnessed more of the Cash family's life away from civilization. This section comprises just about thirty minutes or so of the film, with some images magnificently photographed by Arnaud Desplechin's and Jacques Audiard's cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine. After that, the family, riding their own blue bus called "Steve", heads into the city to attend their mother's funeral, even if it entails the risk of having Ben arrested as threatened by the grandfather (a commanding Frank Langella). Though it doesn't mean to say that the family's travails in the "capitalist" society are less involving: we witness, for example, a tense family dinner confrontation or the eldest son's both awkward and promising first encounter with a teenage girl or the funeral itself, where Ben and his children become no different from a bull in a china shop. Still, it would be equally better if we get to become more intimate with how the family survives and functions in their own cloistered world in the mountains and forests. 

Other than that, "Captain Fantastic" is one of the most original and idiosyncratic American films released in our theaters this year. Much like "Whiplash", "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" and "Boyhood" before it, it's one of those gems which, for some miraculous reasons, suddenly find their way to our cinemas. Plus, the film boasts one of the finest male lead performances we have seen this year. Spiritually akin to his performance in Lisandro Alonso's "Jauja", Mortensen as Ben displays a fearless, insightful and masterful commitment to his difficult role. It's a completely lived-in characterization, showcasing both its tenderness and extremes, humor and authority, joy and pathos. As the film reaches its closing shot, where the family quietly eats breakfast together and the morning sun shines directly on Ben's face as he heaves, presumably, a sigh of contentment, we are simply glad that we have spent about two hours getting to know this eccentric yet loving family and enriched by both the wisdom and danger of unconventional parenthood. 

(The unconventional yet loving Cash family, led by Viggo Mortensen as the father, in Matt Ross' "Captain Fantastic")