Two children hide out on an island to escape the opression of adults.

Picture gallery

1965, New Penzance, an island off New England: a young girl named Suzi watches through binoculars from her home in a lighthouse. At the other end of the island, Sam, an orphan of 12 in a boy scout troop, is sick of being everyone's whipping boy. After he meets Suzi at a party, they write letters to one another and decide to escape. Taking a page from the Swiss Family Robinson, the two pitch a tent on a wild, isolated spot of the island. Suzi, who brings along a suitcase full of books and her little brother's portable record player, teaches Sam to read and they dance the twist. Will the remaining scouts sent to find them do so before a hurricane reaches the island? Will a social worker get her hands on Sam and send him to reform school?

This film by Wes Anderson (director of the excellent Darjeeling Limited, and The Royal Tenenbaums) is an ebullient fantasy that successfully captures the 60's style, with a great sense of humor (in the shape of an over-serious head scout and Suzi qui, comme Poil de Carotte, who'd rather be an orphan). Also funny is Sam, with an added tragic dimension that makes him even more charming. Suzi's world, seen through her binoculars, is a delightful place of books, painting and music - at the same time a wonderfully energetic universe created by Wes Anderson!