Captain Fantastic Analysis
Opening Scene
Captain Fantastic begins with an establishing shot which conveys
the placement of the characters. In this case, it's an overhead aerial shot of
forest. This is then cut to show aesthetic shots of the scenery shot by hand
held cameras to create a beautiful exploration of nature, with camera flares
and close up shots of various elements, so the audience can imagine it's from
their point of view and perhaps contrast their own life from what is shown. A
lack of audio, save from birds and wind which reflects the peacefulness of the
setting, creates a tension due to the unknown circumstances of the narrative.
The camera then follows the movements of a deer with various shot
focuses. The moment of tension is climaxed when an invisibly edited shot
depicts a camouflaged figure in the trees, further behind in the set whereas
the deer walks from right to left closer in a mid shot. The brightness of the
actor's whites of his eyes contrasts to the vivid greens and blacks of the set
which creates dramatic irony by the audience knowing that something will happen
to a deer.
Through quick-paced editing, the sacrifice of the deer is
shown, switching between extreme close ups to highlight the focus points such
as the slicing of the deer to mid shots which show the characters in this
moment, the deer and Bodevan. By using this fast pace, it adds a climax
and quickens the speed of the violence. Bodevan is then shown in a long shot in
a setting that differs from the leafage of the trees, making him stand out
against the river, which uses a colouring of grey and lighter blues from the
natural light of the sky. This sacrifice is portrayed to not be a vicious act
and as a symbol of manhood, which conveys the start of their narrative and
gives an insight to their characterisation. The seriousness of the characters,
Bodevan and Ben (who arrives after the killing), shows how crucial this moment
is to their family traditions. It immediately showcases their views on gender
and adulthood through the quote – ‘Today the boy is dead, and in it’s place is
a man’. The ability to show the strength of yourself, to stand up for yourself
is reflected in the sacrifice of the deer, in almost it’s own religious way. When
Ben looks up after this ritual, there is a close up of his face where the title
appears next to him. This highlights that from the very beginning, he is
Captain Fantastic, which adds a foreshadowing element and introduces him as the
main protagonist. Even the font of the title has a forest look to it, which
shows how he is extremely close to nature.
When the family are shown together, appearing from various parts
of trees, it creates a shock to the audience due to the number and age range of
the cast. This proves them to be a family and makes the audience connect the
link between the family and their surroundings which from the start of the
films shows them to be very different from ordinary life. Each character has a
different style of costume made out of the fur of deceased animals, most
prominently is Zaja’s taxidermy hat that still has the main facial features of
the animal. These contrast the mass produced clothes of modern life to
homemade, living fur (rather than artificial) and shows their gender equality
due to the similarity in the styles of clothing (no prominent differences due
to gender). Their clothes show their link to nature, how it has physically
become part of them and is their main, definitive source which they show
constantly throughout the film to define themselves, as if even in the ‘normal’
society they’ve brought nature with them in the main way they could.
After this serious moment, there is a shift in tone when they
remove their camouflage, as if removing this false identity. The audio is more
dynamic by the loudness of the stream and the playfulness of Ben, the father who
was previously seen to be the leader and decider of someone’s strength and
adulthood, is the beginning of it. This really contrasts their first appearances
and shows a shift which the audience could perhaps relate to.
Dinner Scene
When the family
visit their relatives before attending the funeral of their mothers, there is a
clear dynamic between the families. The children of the relatives are shown to
be distracted with their gadgets, being told off by the mum, which highlights
their disobedience and inability to co-operate in a gathered moment whereas the
main family is seated silently waiting. Their postures are an indicator of this,
for example the main family are all seated upright with their backs straight
and their attention on what’s going on around them whereas the others are
slouched and do not care for their surroundings.
Whilst the
other family are smaller in quantity, the main family has a closer
relationship. This is shown when one of the younger ones, Zaja, asks if she could
have some wine. Ben’s reaction is immediate and is accepting which contrasts
Harper’s, the other family’s mum, state of shock, her delivery of the line portraying
that it should be obvious that small children shouldn’t be allowed alcohol,
even if other cultures do. To show their reactions to their contrasts, the main
camera focuses are close up’s and mid shots to emphasis the characters’ facial
expressions and convey their thoughts to the audience. For example, Ben’s
bluntness in facing how their mother died is cut to show Harper’s facial
reaction; mouth open and eyes wide, due to her beliefs on how children should
be protected. These closer shots and fast paced editing are more common due to
the non-activeness of the scene, since they’re all seated at the table. It adds
a tension between the two families and allows us to see each individual thought
towards the topic, so we can make a judgement on how we view life ourselves. There
are times of long shots which show the contrast visually, the families on two
separate sides of the table and the main family dominating this. It also shows
the contrast between clothing, the main family in brighter patterns highlighting
their difference in life and making them stand out where as the others are in
more mundane colours such as black and grey, with modern references on tops
which the main family don’t understand due to their separation from society.
The
lighting of the scene creates an atmosphere over the atmosphere, in a way
contrasting to the topic of conversation. The standard household colouring of
lighting in the ceiling embedded lights creates a warm tone to the room,
emphasised by the time setting of night. This differs from the topic of
conversation of death, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. The brutal
honestly of the topic is shown to affect the adults more than the children, which
questions their morals in hiding the truth from children. The main family are
aware of exactly how their mother died therefore have no questions about it,
yet by hiding it the children of the other family are more shocked, the parents
even more so. The bluntness affects the other mum so greatly that she has to
walk away from the table, the camera remaining there showing that the focus is
on the reaction to the main family.
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