Moonrise Kingdom

I have to say that this time the whole is less than the sum of its parts. In Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson works everything (everything that the eye can see) to the tiniest detail, which is nice and I appreciate it, but the charm of the story gets drowned under all that heavy and refined splendour. Visually, it’s beautiful – it was a lot of fun to pour over each scene and notice how Anderson moves with the camera (the opening credits!) – but I never got into the story and it didn’t affect me at all on an emotional level. All of Anderson’s films are standoffish, but you can find in them places to feel sad or moved… but here I missed them. The same applies to his characters, they are all (very) weird, but this time I missed the vitality I felt in Mr. Fox, Zissou and others. In Moonrise Kingdom I only found that vitality in Bill Murray’s character (the night scene in the bed), who was given very little space. Immediately after watching it, an unenthusiastic 80%, but it needs to lager a couple of days. (07/19/2012)

Wes Anderson lives in a strange world full of strange and crazy people. It seems a bit as if his films had eaten a ton of mushrooms before the screening, and I watched the rain alternating with cloudy weather. And that’s when the moon comes out. Anyway, I have to say plainly that I expected a little more, mainly because of the great cast who appear in the film. That included both my favorite Bruce Willis and, on the contrary, Edward Norton, with whom I never know what to think, as well as the director’s staples like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, who are always joy to watch. I didn’t have a problem with the actors; what was worse was the storytelling and the scouts, who seemed to have crawled out of the factory for the absolute. It was nice, but it was weird and that’s why the three stars are just right. (01/04/2013)

Anderson's scout sale - contrived, copied from previous deeds, atypically unfinished (so many ideas simply just fade out), and more than anemic in terms of the storytelling. I accept the poetry of the first loves and boy's camping, but I expect more from Wes than the amusing shallowness, which mainly turns into a total spasm in the end. (07/07/2012)

Sam and Suzy come up with a masterpiece reputation, but they convince me of what I suspected a long time ago. When Anderson talks about family relationships, I am much happier than when he relies fully on nostalgia in coming-of-age stories. That's why I continue to smile with The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, or the underestimated Darjeeling Limited, and on the other hand, a few things bother me about Moonrise Kingdom, which moodily joins forces with Rushmore. All the usual shyness and elusiveness suddenly seem too deliberate for me, and the dialogues are always slightly overdone, to make Wes's typical moods easier to recognize. Bruce Willis, meticulous Edward Norton, and perpetually serious Kara Hayward work perfectly, but even they did not convince me to go on this road trip again. (10/16/2012)

Wes Anderson is a unique character who you don't see in world cinema too often. He always manages to surprise me, whether positively or negatively. Moonrise Kingdom is supposedly heavily inspired by his own childhood, and in that case, I wouldn't want to be his father or scout leader. Just as Miloš Forman became a role model for firefighters, Anderson has become one for scouting. Moonrise Kingdom is a film about children, love, determination, and bad weather. This film about rebellion against the adult world and the journey to fulfill a first love resonated with me. So far, this has been my most delightful encounter with Wes Anderson's work. The director's sense of absurdity, irony, and nonconformity definitely triumphed here. Overall impression: 95%. (04/26/2018)

An oddity for indie lovers, hipsters and various other weirdos who will probably drool over the film of the year. For a normal viewer, however, except for a few moments, it is almost non-stop suffering with oddly chosen music and a convoluted ending. At least in terms of actors there is someone to lean on. (01/17/2022)

Like a heretic, I confess that I have only seen Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, which didn't quite fit my mood at the time and has been waiting for a second chance ever since. After Moonrise Kingdom, I will definitely give it that chance. And I'm definitely going to (finally) watch Anderson's older films too, because this one literally charmed me - with everything. An original, funny, endearingly childish adult spectacle, perfectly cast, even better written and directed, and with a great Desplat score. What more can I ask for? (03/09/2014)

I've got used to the fact that Anderson only makes films for a certain audience and that I would have to be high to relate to his fictional worlds. But while The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox didn't interest me at all, Moonrise Kingdom was quite good and I managed to have a fine time with it (and I wasn't high). The simple and effective premise plays a significant role, and in the hands of an interesting director, which Anderson undoubtedly is, takes on much greater dimensions of thought and narrative, and the same can be said about the excellent performances of the actors. Bruce Willis in particular, with a proper role after a long time, is a pleasure to watch in a different position than just as John McClane, Edward Norton is also unique as a scout leader, and we will have to keep a close eye on young Kara Hayward in the future. Anderson has finally pulled it off, and even though he alternates excellent moments with weaker ones far too often for my taste, he has managed to create a very easygoing family film with great child heroes, for which one screening is probably not enough. 3 and 1/2* (11/25/2012)

One of the four Wes Anderson films that I really enjoy. The two leads were perfect, well supported by a great cast of supporting characters, especially Edward Norton as Scout Master Ward. The film has a quirky melancholic atmosphere, which is underscored by an aptly chosen soundtrack. It is also full of unexpected traps, such as arrows, left-handed scissors, fishhook earrings, lightning, fallen totems, and child protective services. I had a great time and, unlike during Life Aquatic, I didn't fall asleep. (12/17/2016)

Romantic stories can take various forms. Sometimes lovers correspond over time, sometimes they have to end up on the other side of the world to find true love. And sometimes they find it at a very young age. When you see the name of director and unique creator Wes Anderson in the credits, you immediately realize that the experience of this film will be somewhat different from the experience of other romantic movies. First of all, most of the film takes place in a scout environment. Even this is not very common. The exteriors are beautiful, with minimal characters. Just scouts, their leader, some parents, a policeman, and that's it. There's no need to count on more characters, because they're not needed. The scouts are the main focus, especially one of them. The whole story revolves around him. Sam falls in love with Suzy, and she falls in love with him. They run away together. It's a love like a strap, but what understanding can their parents have for it? Wes Anderson managed to create an incredibly absurd and incredibly beautiful spectacle. Anderson portrayed the love between a boy and a girl so touchingly and humanly that it is unbelievable. What Terry Gilliam tried to do in his film "Tideland," which is to create a film from a child's perspective, Anderson managed to do perfectly. Unlike Gilliam, however, Anderson's film does not have a pedophilic undertone, but instead it is beautifully and naively childlike. There is so much purity and pure emotion in it that it is unbelievable. A truly excellent film that can lift your mood under any circumstances. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/12/milk-az-vyjde-mesic-trhak-noc-v-muzeu-2.html (03/03/2013)