Matt Ross’s second film as director was a smash at Sundance, winning hearts and plaudits from the festival. The first trailer for Captain Fantastic found its way online today, and it shows exactly why Sundance fell in love with it.

Viggo Mortensen is the titular character, the assumed name refers to his actions to keep his family together, and on their ‘off-the-beaten-path’ path, to live and grow in a very different life following a tragedy.

We spoke to George McKay recently and he had this to say about the experience working on Ross’s film,

[Writer/Director] Matt Ross really created some amazing characters. It really encouraged me to learn about the whole community. It’s about a family that are raised off the grid and then they are suddenly introduced to society. All the intellect behind the kids there was kind of looking at nature versus nurture.

You can read our full interview with rising star and (genuinely lovely guy) McKay here.

We also spoke to Viggo Mortensen about Captain Fantastic while he was doing the press rounds for Jauja. The interview can be seen below (skip to 13:15 for the Captain Fantastic chat), and you can let Mortensen’s soothing reflection lull you into a greater idea of Matt Ross’s new film.

The new images and the first trailer follow below.

CAPTAIN FANTASTICCAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Suit up for a synopsis,

Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, isolated from society, a devoted father (Viggo Mortensen) dedicates his life to transforming his six young children into extraordinary adults. But when a tragedy strikes the family, they are forced to leave this selfcreated paradise and begin a journey into the outside world that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent and brings into question everything he’s taught them.

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC will be released in UK Cinemas on September 9