“Everything I learned I learned from the movies.”
― Audrey Hepburn
I recently got a 1 terrabyte hard drive, for me to store some of my movie files (yes, some- you probably can tell by now that I’m a film enthusiast). Rummaging through the films I have, I came across one of Wes Anderson’s masterpiece, “Moonrise Kingdom.” Instead of organizing my movie files, I ended up watching it from beginning to end. Yes, I’ve seen it a couple of times already, but revisiting it again was such a delight. Like tasting wine that was aged to perfection.
For one, I have been a fan of Anderson’s works, from “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” to the recent one “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” What’s amazing about his films is his attention to details, having that distinctive visual and narrative style that is like no other. And Moonrise Kingdom is no exception. It has its own limited color palette to play with, a soundtrack that is mostly from Hank Williams, and a naked wildlife location-which gives the film its own self-contained world. The film’s basically about young love (between Sam and Suzy), prospering despite all the difficulties they encounter. In which the lines “I love you, but you don’t know what you are talking about.” bears a lot of meaning.
Certain things leave you in your life and certain things stay with you. And that’s why we’re all interested in movies- those ones that make you feel, you still think about. What makes Moonrise Kingdom special is the way it entices you, to be in their world, to fully immerse and live in their contained bubble. From the interiors of the houses, to the magnificent lighthouse and fantastic landscapes, down to the smallest details, and the character-driven plots with melancholic elements.
When the film first came out, I remember that an artist named MUTI made a collage of patches that was related to the film (events in the film made to represent Sam’s boyscout patches) for a feature article in an issue of Little White Lies magazine. I really wanted to get my hands on some of them, if only they were made into patches. If only they were real…
Link to the artwork from MUTI:
http://shop.littlewhitelies.co.uk/product/moonrise-kingdom-illustrated-by-muti
