Captain Fantastic

This screening took place on Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 8:00 pmYukon Arts Centre

Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) lives with his six children completely off-grid in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Rather than have his children go to public schools, Cash engages his kids in a rigorous physical and intellectual curriculum, teaching them the classics as well as more practical lessons in fishing, gardening, construction and more. When his wife dies suddenly, Cash is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent. "All of this is beautifully observed by writer-director Matt Ross, making his second feature after establishing himself as an actor best known as sly techie Gavin Belson on Silicon Valley and Chloë Sevigny’s creepy brother on Big Love. The cast is note-perfect, even if Ross is less sure when differentiating the other kids, particularly the redheaded sisters played by teens Samantha Isler and Annalise Basso. The film’s two unpredictable hours are also burdened by a couple of dragged-out false endings, before hitting a finish that, like many things in life, is all the more satisfying for the uncertainty that led to it." - Ken Eisner, The Georgia Straight