I loved this movie because it was the perfect movie for adults that's starring kids--or at least that's how I saw it. It served as a portrait of nostalgia for everyone who's had a hiking expedition in summer camp, played special agents at weekend sleepovers, or simply laid in bed while formulating a plot to skip town and live off the land--and that's something that adults still dream out to some extent. Even though growing up is constantly raising the stakes for people as far as responsibility goes, the desire to escape reality and wander the world without a great, long-term master plan is very enticing.
Moonrise Kingdom also reminded me of Jon Krakauer's novel Into The Wild. The book (which also spawned a great movie) relates the true story of Chris McCandless, a recent college grad's journey through the United States after donating all his money to charity and cutting off any form of communication with everyone he knows. McCandless is a hero of mine because he had the balls to give everything up in order to live an unpredictable life that makes him happy and gives him the opportunity to constantly discover new places and new people who introduce him to parts of the world that his clear-cut, sheltered life would've never revealed to him. Just like French internet prankster Remi Gaillard said, C'est en faisant n'importe quoi qu'on devient n'importe qui ("It's by doing whatever, that one becomes whoever").
When thinking about people who found enlightenment through a rejection of the normal world, there's also the story that my friend Eric told me about Mr. Butch, the homeless guy in Boston. This man was apparently a very well-known guy who decided to give up everything he had in order to live a life where he didn't depend on material goods. He would only accept the necessary resources (meaning food, warm clothes, and beer) to survive because he didn't want to be seen as a charity case. Mr. Butch apparently became a legend in Boston who people would gladly trade some of their free time and a sandwich for the wisdom that only a man who rejected a life of normalcy could offer. He eventually died and received a parade that was attended by approximately 1,000 people mourning his loss. Hell, some women even came out and talked about how his kindness and charming demeanor got him laid regularly.
I'm sure that there are other stories like that of McCandless and Mr. Butch out there, but these two are just examples of people who lived a happy life and touched the hearts of many through self-created lives that were based on personal exploration (Mr. Butch even has his own Wikipedia page). And this is what I really liked about Moonrise Kingdom--it took the fantasy that we all had as kids, teenagers, and adults, and made a movie out of it. It's wacky and full of oddball characters for that precise reason--it wants to show you how sometimes some of the craziest ideas can be the best ones.
While "Souvenirs" (his first album) was a description of memories I had as a child about a luminous far away dimension "Écailles De Lune" (second album) could be seen as a metaphor of how I manage to live with this experience now in my everyday life. As I sometimes feel that nobody really understand and grab what I am speaking about, in some moments it's like if I was a stranger here, speaking for nothing, and looking for something else than people around me...
Last summer I was in holidays with a couple of friends by the seaside in the south of France and we were used to go on the beach at night while listening to music and contemplating the sea. I had a kind of revelation. It was a so beautiful and fascinating vision, the golden reflects of the moon on the waves, the whispering voices of water and the immensity of the nightsky just above your head.
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