A kingdom of enchantment

Moonrise Kingdom – which opened this year’s Cannes Film Festival and was met with rave reviews – has been created to set free your inner child and support the romanticised notion of true love.

The film opens with two young, adventurous explorers who are pained by their insignificance in the adult world and decide to embark on a journey to a new existence where they can adopt the roles of husband and wife in peace.

Suzy (Kara Hayward) brings her favourite books in a suitcase and Sam (Jared Gilman) brings her flowers and the camping gear — and they travel to their new domestic nirvana in a cove they name Moonrise Kingdom.

Along the way there are dangers, but after safely making it to the idealised world they have imagined for themselves; a tent, a French pop song and pure sincerity is all the deeply committed pair need to seal their partnership.

But as any couple that steps outside the chalked lines of convention will know, the prying eyes and fears of others – namely the 12-year-old Suzy’s parents and Sam’s chain-smoking scout master (Edward Norton) – will hunt them down and demand to know why they would be so selfish in the name of love.

Both of the young leads show a great amount of courage in their roles and execute the fanciful and animated nature of Wes Anderson’s productions like puppets on strings.

The older star-studded cast – which includes Bruce Willis and Tilda Swinton – are rightly overshadowed by the film’s enchanting themes, striking symbolism and beautiful scenes of the director’s trademark fairytale setting.

This film is a sure bet for anyone who enjoys being whisked away to the land of fantasy where innocence and naivety strike back against the experience and restraints of adulthood.