An out of the box character driven movie with amazing performances all over. The movie is carried by the philosophical debate about (the hypocrisy of) how society is raising and viewing kids, so for the ones not interested in some deeper themes this movie will fall flat or could even be misunderstood. It is not so much a critique on society as it is thought provoking, and you might end up somewhere in the middle of the two positions of the argument. You could argue both against and in favour of the main character (played by the always amazing Viggo Mortensen) where every character in this movie has been written and portrayed as realistic as they can be. At its core the movie is about parenting, education and the way society places itself superior to the outcast, and how the outcast always has to fight these conformist systems. Since (western) education and way of life has almost become a religion in itself, it isn't easy to live in (or raise your kids in) when you disagree. Something this movie illustrates the best in its more extreme moments. Its runtime is a bit longer than you'd think necessary, however the slow pacing of the movie makes room for the rather big cast to breathe a little and not hastily skip over the decision points or thought process of the characters. It rotates intense emotional moments with moments of light heartedness and world building. This makes time for actually taking the audience along with the thoughts of the people that have the most development. Oh and the cinematography is surprisingly well done too. I found myself both laughing and almost tearing up in 1 single shot. The emotions are very well captured and the use of light, costumes and props is exceptional. The end really left me wondering if the kids could fly out and become these promising people their parents set them out to be, but something tells me that it won't be that simple.

This film is a good exercise on what it means to live in a society. If you've watched this movie and are reading this comment right now, i think it's safe to assume you're someone who tries to rationally process everything around you and have at least once wondered about the societal structures we are thrown into from birth and how they dictate a big part of our lives from the first second. And if you're aware of how conditioned and ultimately stifled living can be most times, you must have thought at one point or another what it would be like to send it all to hell and go live in a forest and be self sufficient and not have to work to be able to afford food, and not feel like your worth is dictated by your career or how much money you have in your bank account. Well, this movie does that for you, arriving to the conclusion that to be truly human you have to live with other humans, which means you have to live in a society. In the end, that comes with a lot of downsides because as much as it is human to relate and seek personal connections, unfortunately, it is also human to seek power and control, which is attained through money, which in turn is what conditions and stifles us all. There's obvious upsides and downsides to every story, and the most captivating aspect of this film is that it explores the different dimensions of the most general possible concept: living. It makes you think, it does a good job in maintaining its balance and showing both sides, allowing the viewer to form their own opinions. However, it can get corny and a bit too on the nose at times, and technically wise it's nothing impressive. Solid and entertaining watch.

It makes you think. Which is already a good thing regarding many movies. If you are a father, may I help you to meditate on the task and responsibility you have in the education of your children, just follow the system? Is it just memorizing or is personal criteria more important? How far are we from nature? I believe that all extremes are bad and that is also exposed in the film, but the ability to listen and being open to change is important. This is what I value about the movie, regardless of whether the facts may become real or not, it makes you think.

I found this movie to be well intended but filled with a bunch of conflicting views. Yes, homeschooling is awesome, however, it was also portrayed as letting the children end up with poor socialization skills, and they were left thinking that they don't know anything if it wasn't taught in a textbook. The characters were against fascist totalitarianism yet the oldest son (Bo) was a Maoist. How is Mao not the epitome of "the man" they so often talked about sticking it to throughout the movie? That the grandfather didn't do anything about the children going missing? But they all made it fine to fly out of an airport? There are way too many inconsistencies in the movie as far as political philosophy and ideologies. But I suppose if you are able to look past that (why they hell would you since it's core to the movie?) then I guess you will enjoy this. Positive was acting, the idea of the plot, and execution otherwise, but I'd be lying if it didn't irk me to no end that these fundamentals were butchered.

A well done, thought provoking film. While I didn't agree with some portions (specifically stealing, making a show at the funeral, general lack of empathy), I completely agreed with the philosophy of raising children shown here. I appreciated the father taking time to explain any question, no matter how socially acceptable. It really makes you question why recent society tries to dumb things down for children, instead of speaking the truth how it is. My heart also broke for Bo, with the trailer park romance. He was so flustered at first, but wanted the love and human interaction. I think this point in the movie, set up the alternate view point, that maybe witholding children from human interaction is not ideal. Very well done overall, I loved the score and particularly Sigor Vos's song on it.