A difficult foster child finally finds his place on a remote New Zealand farm, runs into some tough luck and goes on the lam with a stern, stoic older man who makes no attempt to disguise his contempt for the boy. Despite what sounds like a very serious, dreary premise, there's a lot of innocent joy, moments of pure brightness and continuous good humor in Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
While they evade pursuit in the Kiwi wilds, Ricky (the adoptee in question) stands up for himself and earns a place in the old man's heart, plus a dash of respect, without losing any of the magnetic, irreverent qualities that make him so much fun to watch. Youthful Julian Dennison is a great fit for the part, playing the hard-edged wannabe thug with a straight face while smoothly indulging the sillier ticks and quirks that make it clear he's still young at heart. Sam Neill, nearly unrecognizable beneath a thick white beard and thicker local accent, makes a fine addition as his gruff, prickly counterpart; a bitter, lonesome man who still harbors the spark of warmth beneath several prohibitive outer layers.
Sweet and genuine, effortlessly funny and smoothly charming, it's partly Napoleon Dynamite, partly Wes Anderson and partly its own thing entirely.
Review by nicoleahmedBlockedParent2024-01-02T23:41:28Z
A perfect film for me. Hilarious and heartwarming and all the emotions in between. Quirky high quality performances but the film keeps it's independent local kiwi vibe (which i adored).
I love the overarching themes of irregular people finding companionship and love through adventure, rebellion, nature and shared experiences.
Some might feel this isn't as polished or as consistently laugh out loud as some of Waititi's other offerings but the wildness and uber quirkiness of this film - along with the hard hitting warm emotions / 100% positive feelings you're left with about humanity are what makes this one of my faves.
The humour in this is unreal - like just completely unexpected jokes come flying out of nowhere. I watched this with my mum and dad - the three of us are very different in humour and film tastes but we were all laughing out loud here. One of the early lines about Sam Neil's character carrying a hunted wild boar made me choke on my drink. Laughs don't stop from there.
The soundtrack reminded of 80s and 90s children's fantasy films at times, creating a magical and fun feeling. Paired with the writing / directing of scenes sometimes this film felt like a child's fever dream - a what if story of escaping modernity with your dogs and a loved grown up.
The only bad thing for me is that the film ended at all.