Waiting in the Sydney Film Festival queue on the back stairs at Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace at Cremorne, the gossip was that people were coming to the film because they love the work of Viggo Mortenson, who stars in this film.
Before the film, we were treated to the delicious sounds of old show tunes from the historic mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. For those that have yet to experience this wonder the Wurlitzer is reason in itself for an outing to the Orpheum main auditorium. According to the Orpheum website the 87 year old organ is a major talking point although people still believe that it is merely a large electronic organ while it actually houses 11 ranks of pipes. In Sydney during the ‘glory days of cinema’ there were at least 20 theatres that had pipe organs installed, and in five of the city venues, the organ often joined the theatre’s top orchestras for stage shows or silent film presentations.
Captain Fantastic opens to luscious green scenes in a forest of towering tall trees and soon we are confronted by camouflaged hunters and the shedding of blood as they slit the throat of a deer with a knife. One is presented with the fresh heart to eat raw as a rite of passage. It was Viggo Mortenson, with blackened face, who handed that heart to his eldest son.
Mortenson plays an American Pacific Northwest father, Ben who is home schooling his six children and raising them with Platonic ethics isolated from society. With the death of his wife, the family make a decision to attend the funeral, and that brings the first exposure to the outside world.
This is a beautiful story, written and directed by Matt Ross. The film is beautifully paced and brings marvellous contrasts to question the values and lifestyle of a western consumer lifestyle.
I was warned by a film loving friend who had seen the earlier session at Sydney Film Festival. “You will bawl.” And I did. And along with the rest of the Sydney Film Festival audience at the Orpheum, I not only cried, but I laughed and laughed and wanted to put my arms around Ben and each one of his marvellous children.
Captain Fantastic is by no means a children’s film although six of the seven stars are indeed children and each is just brilliant in their respective roles. This is a wonderful wonderful quirky heart-warming film that will make each person all the better for seeing it.
Captain Fantastic opens for wider viewing in Australian cinemas on September 8th.
