By John Campbell
Boy was my favourite film of 2011 and, after the uproarious undead spoof of What We Do in the Shadows (2014), Taika Waititi has now come up with another absolute gem.
Waititi would probably love to be offered a big-budget gig in Hollywood, but at what price to his integrity and individuality? He wouldn’t be the first director to be emasculated by the machine.
As in Boy this story is set in a remote area of New Zealand. Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison), a troubled and troublesome ward of the state, has been left in the care of Hector and Bella Faulkner (Sam Neill and Rima Te Wiata). The kid, a wannabe gangsta rapper, is not happy about the situation, but is beginning to adjust to his new circumstances when an unforeseen event threatens to have him returned to juvenile detention.
He and Hector go bush to escape the authorities, crossing miles of rugged countryside, like migrating African wildebeeste – hence the title (the dialogue is rich in such plays on words – there’s also a goodie to do with Caucasian). It’s a buddy movie, when reduced to its basics, as the old man and young boy come together through adversity, learning to respect and love each other, despite their differences.
In between (the screenplay, written by Waititi, based on Barry Crump’s novel, is divided into a dozen chapters) they have to deal with a relentless and Dickensian child-welfare officer (Rachel House), a bunch of yahoos after the reward money that has been offered for anyone who can locate Hector and Ricky, and the challenges of life on the run, including a ferocious wild boar and not having any toilet paper.
There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well ones of deep poignancy and – in case you’re a bit squeamish – a couple of scenes of bloody but not gratuitous violence. Waititi’s sense of place and its influence on character is present throughout a narrative that grips tighter as it heads towards an ending that is briefly reminiscent of Thelma And Louise. Unmissable.
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