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Captain Fantastic

(Ross, 2016)

Section B: American Film since 2005: Group 2: Contemporary independent film (produced after 2010)

Subject contentCore study areas:1 Key elements of film form2. Meaning and response3. The context

Core study areas

1. KEY ELEMENTS OF FILM FORM:View the opening scene, identify what shot sizes are used for the shots before the deer is killed?

Specialist study areas:4. Spectatorship6. Ideology

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What can you say about the pace of the film during these first shots?

Consider the colour and the content of the initial shots – what ideas and impressions do they help to create?

What impressions do we get of the film based on the establishing shots?

How does the opening scene make the audience respond? Is it a typical opening?

What type of scene is being set?

Consider the way in which the actors are positioned in their initial shots. What can you say about audience alignment and audience expectations in relation to this?

What sounds are heard? (Use technical terms as well as explaining the sounds themselves) What impressions are created from the use of sound? How does it build up an atmosphere?

Scene 2:View the church / funeral scene and comment on the mise-en-scene in relation to binary opposites. What information is reinforced about the family and their place in the civilised world?

Scene 3: View the scene when Ben leaves the children. Study his performance. What do we se his character do that we haven’t seen him do previously? How does the spectator respond? Is it emotional cinema? What makes it emotional? Do other key elements reinforce the emotional content?

Scene 4: Examine the editing and sound during the scene with the children and the deceased mother including her cremation. What type of editing techniques are employed and how do they work during the scenes? Consider the role of the song in the film and how it works with the editing.

Overall:Consider the power of the soundtrack in general, how does it support the visuals, enhance the mood and encourage particular responses form the spectator?

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3. CONTEXT:Matt Ross: Use imdb to research the work he has done as a director, actor, editor, producer and cinematographer.

Look at the featurette on imdb and make notes on Ross’ reasons for writing the film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3553976/videoplayer/vi2011019033?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_2

Why did he choose Viggo Mortensen?

Conduct some online research or use a film textbook to find out what the conventions of a road movie are.

How does the film meet the conventions of a road movie? Refer to specific scenes to support some of your points.

The film is an independent production.Use websites such as www.imdb , www.boxofficemojo , www.thenumbers.com and any online video sources or articles to find out answers to the following questions.

How was the film made?

How was it funded?

What was the budget?

Which studios were involved?

Who was the distributor for the film?

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What role did Sundance film festival play?

How did it do at Cannes film festival?

Look at the release of the film – what type of release did it have in the USA and elsewhere?

Look at box office takings – how successful was the film commercially?

Has it won any awards?

What types of reviews did it receive from critics?

One example of a review (Variety) can be read via this link: http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/captain-fantastic-film-review-sundance-1201687010/

Mark Kermode reviews of the film written and audio versions:https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/11/captain-fantastic-review-viggo-mortensen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p047c843

The context marries closely with ideology and spectatorship ideas. It is interesting to think of the release of the film in the year of the American presidential elections, even though it was made during 2014. The political backdrop of America offers a huge contrast to the political views of Ben in the film and his views of American society are voiced throughout the film and offer a narration over the shots of America, anchoring a meaning or position in regards to the corporate chains such as Walmart and Macdonalds, institutions such as churches and schools (education) and suburbia.

2. MEANING & RESPONSE: Alignment in the opening scene These characters are to be our subjects with whom we are aligned but initially we are aligned with the deer, we see motivated shots of eyes watching through the foliage. We can hear people creeping around, the deer is on edge. We sense the threat the deer is facing. It has horror-esque qualities, the hunter and the hunted in close proximity, we can see the victim clearly but we don’t know what or who the threat is. For many viewers their film awareness of Disney’s Bambi springs to mind and emotional response is very much connected to the dread of what is about to happen to the innocent deer (2 people I watched this film with on separate occasions made reference to Bambi’s mother.) The mud-covered bodies make the humans monstrous, threatening and less humane difficult to identify with. The attack on the deer is fast paced and chaotic. The dark red of the blood, the ritual of eating the heart is all incredibly brutal, tribal and animalistic. Distanced from the modern, Western, civilised world of the typical spectator.There is an immediate barrier – we do not have an immediate alignment with these characters who will in fact become our protagonists. In terms of spectatorship we can see that there is a difficulty in accessing the film; it challenges our expectations. Our interaction is therefore interesting as we are thrown into something harsh and unsettling, seeing an innocent creature being ferociously killed.

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Director Ross has to now work to make us form an allegiance with these characters and understand their situation. He achieves this through humanising them - they wash themselves, get dressed, they appear more civilised as a result of this. We see them reading, preparing food, singing, they are now far more civilised, not as far removed from ourselves as we may have initially assumed. Ross also uses humour to align us with the family members, seeing Zaja with her altar of animal bones, Ben telling Nai to get dressed and him returning in his onesie shark-suit.

We begin to appreciate the loving family but also the differences of their lifestyle to our own. We also appreciate elements of tension (Rellian rebels early on by banging angrily during what initially was a slow song the family played, his facial expressions and response following his injury when rock climbing reveal his anger towards his father, Bo hides the university acceptance letters from Ben) and the mise-en-scene and composition of some shots remind us that the mother is absent but certainly a loved member of the family. These are enigmas that begin to reveal the direction of the story. What examples can you see in the opening of this? Use key element terminology wherever possible when making your observations.

Question: Is suspension of disbelief effectively achieved in your opinion? Discuss and support your response.

4. SPECTATORSHIP: A lot of what has been explored already links closely to spectatorship. The idea of how our alignment and allegiance changes throughout the film is something to examine in regards to how you personally responded to the film.

How might people respond differently to this film?

The film contains political messages. Think of the state of America currently and how in Captain Fantastic we see a liberal family, a commune, naturists, celebrating Chomsky, referencing Trotsky, Marx, Plato’s Republic, criticising capitalism, religion. (Shree’s father asks a similar question at Sundance – see link - will people be instantly turned off by the film?)

Ross states that the film has to be viewed to understand the context of some of the messages in the film. Will conservative viewers see it and respond to it differently to liberal viewers?

Ben and the grandpa are both heroes and villains in the film – they make mistakes and they also try their best and mean well. Does this create a balance between the 2 ideologies? The shared trait is paternal love and protection.

Consider how the cinematography and sound during Ben’s grieving scenes use the idea of focalisation techniques. Did you find yourself responding emotionally to these moments?

Anti-capitalist messages in the film may be challenging for some viewers. Independent films typically target what Pearl and Dean referred to, until very recently, as the Arthouse audience of ABC 1 25+cultured.

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If targeting such an audience are they more liberal minded? Discuss your response? Are they more likely to respond more in favour of Ben?

Is active viewing encouraged by offering such perspectives?

How were you actively viewing and responding to the film? How were you making sense of events via your own ideological position? Did you idolise the family? Feel opposed to them? Were you interested in them? Alienated from them? Share your views with other students to see what responses you had as individual spectators.

At which moments did you passively view the film? Were you ever absorbed by the sound, visuals and narrative without questioning content?

Does Ross encourage passive viewing at any specific moments in the film in your opinion?

Consider what the dominant response is – how does Ross want audiences to respond? What would be a negotiated response and what would b an oppositional response?

6. IDEOLOGY: Questioning beliefs – the norms of society The intelligence of the children through reading and discussing content – comparison to school

education of cousins. Survival skills and life skills but no social awareness. Critically exploring the world around us, offering alternative political ideas Positioned with the family – they are different to us but we value them – how does Ross achieve

this? We can see the juxtaposition of the damage video games cause as opposed to the hunting weapons

Ben gives as gifts to his children with on “Chomsky day”. What is deemed as acceptable for children – alcohol, swearing, sexual awareness Ben doesn’t sugar coat things and protect children in the way society appears to. Is this wrong or right?

Might active spectatorship be encouraged through the argument and ideas raised in the film?

What is capitalism? What are some of the positive and negative aspects of capitalism and how are they echoed in the film?

RESEARCH TASK: Who is Noam Chomsky? What political ideas does he have?

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How do Chomsky’s ideas link to the lifestyle of the family?

What messages are encoded in the film about capitalism via Ben’s view of the world? How are they communicated through the core elements of film form? Refer to specific scenes in your analysis.

How are these messages and values interesting in terms of our alignment and allegiance?

Things to think about: Life in the wilderness Free of social influence Visual elements – the rural and the urban The realities and the protection of society Outside and inside Binary opposites – view the scene with the cousins – look for visual and thematic binary opposites –

what arguments and tensions are raised? How are we aligned?

Scenes to reconsider in relation to ideology:View the funeral scene. Examine the binary opposites when the family arrive and link your observations more explicitly to ideology and spectatorship – audience positioning.

Examine Ben’s emotional journey throughout the narrative. How does he change is ideas and what makes this happen?

Examine the emotional journey of the family throughout the narrative – how do the children develop and change as the narrative progresses?

View the final scene: The compromise – How does the family (Ben in particular) compromise with their lifestyle?

To what extent is this a traditional resolution? What does he allow his children to do?

What sacrifice has he made for his family? Is he content with his choice? (Study the end sequence and use key elements to determine your own response to this question.)

Binary Opposites: Conflict between Ben and Grandpa – 2 different ideologies. Who is right and who is wrong? Discuss.

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Consider if we are meant to see one as more antagonistic, do our opinions change as the narrative progresses. Does your own alignment and allegiance shift throughout the film?Use the table to examine the binary opposites. Consider use of cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound, performance and editing to enhance the differences.

Ben Grandpa

Both men mean well for their family – Explain how this is evident. How might alignment, ideology and spectatorship ideas connect to determine an individual’s response and appreciation of this point?

Kermode speaks of a “battle between light and dark” throughout the film – can you identify any examples?(Consider the film form key elements as well as themes and narrative moments.)

Light / positive Dark / negative

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxb69j2Dqo Analysis of Captain FantasticThe main points in this particular analysis are:

Affection, admiration and sympathy for Ben – we are aligned with him initially.

We begin to see Ben’s world through other perspectives so his idealism is seen to be difficult to live up to and we appreciate the problems he may have caused for others:

The children – Bo and Rellian significantly rebel and speak out about how they are unhappy with how they are being brought up.The family members – Harper, Dave and the cousins Justin and Jackson, Grandpa (Jack) and Grandma (Abigail)The campsite inhabitants

Consider when Lolita is explained by Kielyr it has parallels to Ben as she sees the behaviour from different perspectives.

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Is Ben composed similarly to a religious figure holding a book, priest like stance when children are crying.

Bo tells his father that everything he knows is from a book links to religious cults. Ritual of the deer hunt –boy to man primitive activity.

Resolution A midway point - Ben has made a sacrifice for his children. The children have been allowed to make their own decisions. Things have changed, the children work quietly, not discussing ideas led by Ben, Ben looks longingly out of the window. Your own notes:

ASSESSMENT AND REVISION

Essay questions:

How far does Captain Fantastic demonstrate a constant shift between passive and active spectatorship? Refer to key scenes in your response.

To what extent did the soundtrack and / or the editing techniques seek to encourage a specific response from the spectator? Refer to specific moments from the film in your response.

Revision task:Complete the table by linking core elements from specific scenes to 3 separate examples of spectatorship and ideology.

Core elementsFilm formMeaning and responseContext

Ideology Spectatorship

Scene Example 1 Example 1

Scene Example 2 Example 2

Scene Example 3 Example 3

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