Movies: Moonrise Kingdom

Brand names are useful. They help you to find certain attributes. The brand name Wes Anderson stands for hilarious & entertaining independent movies full of surprises like "The Royal Tenenbaum" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Ziossu". The director`s newest opus, "Moonrise Kingdom" (imdb.com), lives up to his reputation. The icon of the U.S. independent cinema tells the story of 2 kids (12 years old) who fell in love and ran away into the wilderness, which triggerd a funny chain of events.

The flick deals with a lot of issues like first love, a dysfunctional family, boy scouts as a paramilitary organization, the fascistic attitude of some public social workers, dangerous weather situations, the beauty of nature and a lot more. Anderson (and his co-script writer Roman Coppola) treated these topics with unique humor and created a lot of hilarious situations.

The flick benefitted a lot from cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman who showed his talent especially in the fine interior shots. The rich colors in many scenes, which, I suppose, were beautified in post-production, enhanced the allure of the flick. And the use of Benjamin Britten`s music was a further enrichment.

It´s impressive how many famous actors Anderson could collect for his flick. Bill Murray ( a standard in Anderson`s movies), Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDo rmand - and all did a good job. The newcomer Kara Hayward, who was at the time of shooting just 12, is a real discovery.  Kara's aplomb and calmness were amazing; her steady gaze could propel  her to become a rising star in Hollywood. The coeval Jared Gilman was her adequate partner.

Congratulations. With "Moonrise Kingdom" Wes Anderson expanded his brand name as maker of funny & highly watchable movies.