If you were a Scout in the 1960's......this movie is for you

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2015)

Moonrise Kingdom is that truly rare gem in cinema...a unique movie that will live inside your heart for many, many years. If you "grew up" in the turbulent mid-1960's and were part of the Boy Scouts, or Girl Scouts..or Royal Rangers, or Y-Indian Guides.....or any of a half-dozen other youth organizations that taught outdoor skills, discipline, brotherhood/sisterhood, and troop or tribe loyalty........then this movie will remind you of the ritual and pine-infused camp rhythm and heartfelt, shared secrets we all share when young men and women gather outdoors to learn, live, and struggle with the pains and pangs of adolescence. These group experiences are part of the stepping-off point in a young person's life....when uncertainties and fear of the responsibilities of impending adulthood start to appear on the near horizon. Most kids are still holding on to just being a kid, while watching their peers begin to split off and take on new challenges....and for more than few of us, this is the time in life when we wonder if we will EVER "fit in"..or grow up...or discover what in life we REALLY want to do, as adults. It is a thrilling, terrifying time to be a teenager....and for kids who all thought we were square pegs in a round-hole America, the story of these two adolescent lovers finding themselves in their first summertime puppy love....it strikes a resonant chord in our hearts. We were there once too...facing that huge unknown...a future full of might-be's and hoped- for's... Wes Andersen has fired a camp arrow directly into the heart of 1960's America with this love story.......and in the process, reminded us all of what pine needles smell like, and campfire smoke......and the pain of your first love that causes such and intense yearning to be with that special one person who gives you solace, and takes the time to try and really understand you.