Set in the beautiful bush of New Zealand, Taika Waititi's Hunt For The Wilderpeople is comedic and heartfelt story of friendship and family, centered around Ricky, a defiant city kid, who has just been assigned to a new foster home in the New Zealand countryside. While adjusting to his new life in the countryside is a bit of a culture shock, thanks to the loving Aunt Bella, Ricky finds himself at home rather quickly, though the cantankerous Uncle Hec doesn't exactly show the same affection for the newest member of the family. When tragedy strikes in the unexpectedly death of Aunt Bella, Ricky finds his new home life threatened by social services wanting to ship him to another home, forcing both he and Hec into the bush. With a national manhunt unfolding, Hec and Ricky are forced to work together, slowly forming their own semblance of family. Taika Waititi's Hunt For The Wilderpeople is very much a film in the spirit of Roald Dahl, a film busting with youthful exuberance and a sense of adventure, effectively transporting the viewer into the perspective a young character in Ricky, one who has never meshed well with authority figures. Creating a hyper-real sense of reality, Hunt For The Wilderpeople is a fantastical adventure that finds Ricky and Mic come across a host of unique characters along their adventure, with the film beautifully exhibiting how adolescence itself is a journey of self-discovery and parental support. Mic and Ricky's relationship isn't particularly a loving one at first, with Mic being a loner himself who shows little respect for authority, but one of the more touching aspects of Hunt For The Wilderpeople is how these two characters learn to confide in each other, forming a bond and coming to appreciate each other despite their reluctance towards any state of authority. Aunt Bella's seemingly endless love was the only authority each of these characters respected, and with her untimely death these two characters are forced to work together, leading to comical and touching results. Balancing both the film's comedic and dramatic elements to perfection, Taika Waititi has created another crowd-pleasing, touching story with Hunt For The Wilderpeople, a film that is consistently funny while also managing to deliver a genuine, touching portrait of adolescence and the inherent desire/need for companionship and/or guidance.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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