Captain Fantastic

Release Date: July 8, 2016

Starring: Viggo Mortensen as Ben
George Mackay as Bo
Samantha Isler as Kielyr
Annalisa Basso as Vespyr
Nicholas Hamilton as Rellian
Shree Crooks as Zaja
Charlie Shotwell as Nai

Directed by: Matt Ross

Written by: Matt Ross

Ben, a devoted father of six kids, lives out in the forest of the North West. When his wife gets really sick, she must leave in order to get better. A few months later she dies and him and the rest of the family have to leave to attempt to get the to the funereal. While out in the real world her must come to terms with the fact that her parenting style are very different from his own.

This film is one of the most unique movies I have seen this year. This movie shows all of the different ways, and views, on how to raise kids. They touch on almost every subject on what we believe and why. It's the story of a father who wants the best for his kids. He wants them to think on everything. Not just call in interesting and say that they like something. He wants them to expand their minds, to think no only as to what they thought of the book they are reading but why the author wrote it. What it represents.

This movie really makes you questions many different things. One of which is the education system that we have. These kids are smart, they think about the world and the laws that are passed. This is just a five year old talking about it. When a young man in middle school can't even tell you what the Bill of Rights is it makes you question how we are educating out future. It makes you think of how are we making our kids strong as well. There are a lot of kids out there who think they are touch but when it comes down to hard work they don't know what to do. They are very entitled because everything is handed to them. This is very different from the world that Ben is trying to show. He is trying to make them world hard for what they want. To work for everything, even their food.

Yet, even in this paradise that Ben has created there are problems. They have no friends other than their siblings. They don't know really anything outside the world unless it comes out of a book. As smart as they are they are not street smart. They don't know how manipulative the people of the world can be. Some may think that Ben's way of raising kids is great but when you think about it this is helicopter parenting to the extreme. Yet, they are very independent in other ways. Like when it comes to their education. They choose what they want to learn about and they seems to know who they are and what they like.

Overall, this movie is a need to watch as least once. If not because you are interested in the film then to understand how different styles of parenting are. That raising kids is more than giving them what they wants it about giving them what they need to make something of themselves.