Knowing that this was a Wes Anderson film, I did have some idea of how it would be set up. I noticed that he likes to have his characters write letters to each other that he then shows the audience. His camera shots also have a continuity to them that gives him his trademark. His characters also speak very matter-of-factly, even though they may have no idea what they're talking about, especially the adults.
That was what struck me most about the film: the polarization between the two generations of characters, the adults and the children. The adults would act more childish than the children would! More often than not, they were more troubled than them too. Sam and Susie got married; meanwhile, Susie's parents' marriage is falling apart. The scene where the policeman and social worker are writing each other tickets in the church made me laugh, but also got me thinking. In connection with last film, there seems to be a theme of outlandish authority taking away children's freedom.That says a lot about authority that the woman doesn't even have a name; she's just called "social worker". The band of khaki scouts acted more like a militia than an innocent boy scout troop. The "tour-guide"/Where's Waldo character actually reminded me of the narrator in Our Town, telling us the details he thought we needed to know and giving us time stamps. There was lots of Noah references, and I'm thinking that Sam could be Noah in this movie. Obviously Sam and Susie were the outsiders in this community, so does that mean that this society has fallen away from religion too? But then again, the khaki scout preacher talked about the meaning of marriage and made them seriously consider their decision before agreeing to do it, so that's something to look into further.
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