“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” is the funniest manhunt movie ever! A wild adventure.
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| Taika Waititi (“Eagle vs. Shark,” “Boy,” “What We Do in the Shadows”), New Zealand |
From the accomplished director Taika Waititi (“What We Do in the Shadows,” “Boy,” “Eagle vs. Shark,” and the upcoming Marvel Superhero adventure: “Thor: Ragnarok”) comes this incredible adventure, “Hunt for the Wilderpeople.”
This New Zealand smack hit opens with a beautiful landscape that looks like it's out of one of the “The Hobbit” movies, where our adventure begins.
Classified by the authorities as a menace to society, Ricky (Julian Dennison) is sent to a foster home on a farm.
The film vividly shows, in a flashback, his criminal record: cursing, graffiti, and spitting, among other felonies, done in his elementary school and on the streets.
The vehement social worker takes those offenses seriously. She becomes an obsessive vigilante of the kid from beginning to end.
Ricky gets a new chance to live on a very modest farm with Aunt Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and the crabby Uncle Hec, played by Sam Neill. They don’t have any children or modern devices to entertain this young punk who likes hip-hop.
In a marvelously welcoming scene, they receive Ricky with open arms, a birthday cake, and a precious gift, a dog he names Tupac.
When he gets used to the new lifestyle, something freaks him out, propelling his escape into the wild.
After a few days alone, Uncle Hec joins him. As they share the road, the adventure turns amusing, and the manhunt goes viral because the odd couple becomes the famous outlaw and the most wanted on the Internet.
Ricky is wonderfully played by a very young and talented Julian Dennison (“Chronesthesia,” “Paper Planes,” and “Shopping”). He is hilarious; his confidence and charisma go beyond expectations. Ricky’s self-esteem never goes down because Ricky is a warrior and never gives up.
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| Julian Dennison, photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyright Festival in LA 2016 |
Contemplating the breathtaking landscape, Uncle Hec tells his little companion: “This place is “majestical,” the kid corrects him: “Majestic” is the right word.”
“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” remarkably shows children in everyday situations becoming extraordinary, as in the 2004 British film “Millions” by the Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Trainspotting”) or “Whale Rider,” 2004. Also, it has similar humor to the 2013 Eugenio Derbez Mexican hit “Instructions Not Included.”
“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” rightly dwells on universal values of acceptance, tolerance, diversity, respect, and, above all, love one another.
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