Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom is set in 1965. The story follows two twelve-year-olds, Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop, who run away together from their homes on a fictional New England island.
The 1965 setting places the film in a specific period of American youth culture, before the social upheavals associated with the later 1960s had fully transformed everyday life. Scout uniforms, mid-century homes, portable radios, records, and handwritten letters all reinforce the time period.
The film was released in 2012 and stars Jared Gilman as Sam and Kara Hayward as Suzy. Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton play adults searching for the children or trying to understand their behavior.
The date can be confused with the film’s release year or with the year of its Cannes premiere. Moonrise Kingdom premiered at Cannes in 2012, but its fictional events take place in 1965.