HAVE you ever wondered what it would be like to offer your children a childhood that is TV-free, where you live with your family in a natural environment, hunting for food, growing vegetables, home schooling your six children and spending evenings making music and reading books?

Ben is a devoted father in the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the USA. He has raised his children with a rigorous physical and intellectual education that has made them smart, strong and self-sufficient, although socially awkward due to lack of contact with other children.

He challenged the idea of what it is to be a parent and succeeded in giving his children a brilliant upbringing.

Until his wife Leslie dies and her family bans him from attending her funeral.

The grieving father banning his daughter's husband from her funeral is dramatic but not unheard of.

This is one of those Indie films that challenges social boundaries and what is safe to discuss on film, and I loved it for it. It also challenged me and made me feel very uncomfortable (who gives a seven-year-old a hunting knife as a present?) and allowed me to reconsider my own parenthood practices.

The casting in this film is great, with the children offering fantastic performances, successfully accompanied by Mortensen (Lord of the Rings trilogy) and George Mackay (Pride, 2014).

Special mention goes to Nicholas Hamilton, the Alstonville teen who plays Rellian. His character does not say much but it is pivotal in getting the dramatic action happening, and he does that with simplicity and great acting.

As a father, I truly felt for Ben, a man with conviction who has not just lost his wife but his whole life.

Captain Fantastic is one of those rare films that comes along sometimes and makes your life a little bit better.

Details

Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Nicholas Hamilton

Director: Matt Ross

Rating: M

Reviewer: Javier Encalada

Verdict: 5/5