COMP 1B: Captain Fantastic overview

Question 1

What award did Ross win at the Cannes Film Festival?

Answer 1

Best director

The film was also recognized as one of the top ten independent films of 2016 by the National Board of Review.

Question 2

What key themes are established in the opening scene of the film?

Answer 2

Masculinity, family, affinity with nature

Question 3

What is significant about the dinner scene from 44:08 to 49:36?

Answer 3

Juxtaposition between the two families and different approaches to parenting

Question 4

How does the cinematography establish the grandeur of the natural world?

Answer 4

Using extreme long shots of long duration

Question 5

What does the framing of Ben in the rear view mirror signify?

Answer 5

His isolation even from his family

Question 6

What is expressed through the contrast between the wide shot of the landscape and the close-up of Ben?

Answer 6

Ben’s distress for the first time in the narrative

Question 7

What does Ben shaving his beard and Bo shaving her head symbolize?

Answer 7

Lifestyle changes and transitions in identity

Question 8

How do the family’s costumes contrast with modern society?

Answer 8

Brightly colored clothes at the funeral defy traditions

Question 9

What does Jack refer to Ben as during the funeral scene?

Answer 9

Some hippy in a clown outfit

Question 10

What is the significance of the lighting in the basketball court scene?

Answer 10

It lends gravity to a difficult conversation about whether Ben is dangerous

Question 11

What narrative structure does the film adhere to?

Answer 11

Continuity editing

Question 12

What happens during Ben’s hallucinations of Leslie?

Answer 12

Visual softness, choral religious music, and lighting effects

Question 13

What does diegetic music symbolize in the film?

Answer 13

Rellian’s rebellion and assertion of individuality

Question 14

What does playing bagpipe music on the bus suggest?

Answer 14

They are an army going into battle

Question 15

What do train sounds signify when Bo looks through his university acceptance letters?

Answer 15

Impending conflict and anxiety

Question 16

How does Rellian express his desire to fit into society?

Answer 16

By asking why they can’t celebrate Christmas like the rest of the world

Question 17

What does the film explore regarding different approaches to parenting?

Answer 17

It challenges all approaches, ultimately letting the children decide how they want to be raised

Question 18

How are gender roles portrayed in the film?

Answer 18

Tasks are not gendered; children perform the same tasks and are taught the same skills

Question 19

Who influenced Matt Ross in his direction of the film?

Answer 19

Simen Johan

Question 20

What shooting style did Matt Ross choose to create immersion?

Answer 20

Handheld shooting

Question 21

What did Matt Ross aim to achieve in the film’s emotional tone?

Answer 21

Create something psychically hopeful

Question 22

What does Owen Gleiberman comment on regarding contemporary political culture?

Answer 22

The left and the right in America are selling different versions of anti-establishment fervor

Question 23

What role did word-of-mouth play in the film’s success?

Answer 23

It contributed to its wider release after positive reviews

Question 24

How does the film encourage identification with Ben?

Answer 24

Through key moments of grief, such as his hallucinations of his deceased wife

Question 25

What are the two different approaches to life represented in the film?

Answer 25

Ben’s and Jack’s approaches

Question 26

What critique does the film offer about contemporary American society?

Answer 26

Americans are over medicated and under educated

Question 27

What is emphasized in the children’s education?

Answer 27

Diversity in education, including academic subjects and survival skills

Question 28

What anti-authority message is portrayed in the film?

Answer 28

Children pretend to be a Christian cult to disconcert a police officer