Matt Ross

It's very hard to rate this perplexing film. On the one hand, there are great performances by Viggo Mortensen and all his kids, as well as by the people they come across in their strange journey. On the other hand, any film that mentions Noam Chomsky more than once (or even once, for that matter) and goes on to indict, quite correctly, organized religion, seems more like a vanity project than anything else, since it couldn't possibly make any money--at least in the United States. Toward the end, it gets a bit muddled as well. As a non-religious home schooler myself--but of only one child from 6th grade through high school--I can appreciate the education the parents have given these children. But it is also a bit over the top given that we lack much of a background of why Mortensen took his family to the woods, and how he got so smart about so many subjects before he did so. In the end, this is more of a curiosity that makes me interested in seeing more of some of these actors than in seeing more films like this one. One thing it has going for it, though, is incredible scenery in Washington State and New Mexico. The musical interludes are just bizarre, however.… (more)