Boy oh Boy

Boy is the little film that could. In its home country of New Zealand it beat blockbusters like Alice In Wonderland, King Kong and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy to become the highest grossing film ever. It is easy to see why. Boy is a touching, hilarious, imaginative and often-tragic tale that follows 11-year-old Boy (James Rollestone) who lives in a Maori community and is left to look after his younger brother Rocky (Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu) and cousins when his grandmother leaves town for a funeral. Set in 1984, Boy’s favourite people are Michael Jackson, who has just released Thriller, and his absentee father who he imagines to be everything from a war hero to top rugby player. However, his illusions are shattered when his dad, Alamein (writer/director Taika Waititi), returns from prison and into their lives to searches for a stash of money he hid at their farm (above).

The first thing that jumps out at you about Boy is its heart; it is displayed proudly on its sleeve for all the audience to see. This is largely thanks to the original and honest script by Waititi, whose past credits include Eagle Vs Shark and Flight Of The Concords. It is story that not only New Zealanders can relate to, but Australians too, with words like honky, egg and choice sure to get a knowing chuckle from both nationalities. However, for the international audience who wouldn’t perhaps get all of the cultural in-jokes, this is a tale about the ability of a child’s spirit and imagination to overcome adversity. Much like the characters in aboriginal film Samson and Delilah, the children live in a remote indigenous community surrounded by poverty, abuse, neglect, drugs and crime. But unlike its Australian counterpart, which confronted these issues with darkness, a touch of redemption and then more darkness, Boy manages to be highly enjoyable without shoving a social message down your throat.

Plucked from communities identical to those in the film, the cast of young actors are amazing, Rollestone and Eketone-Whitu especially. Rocky isn’t a character with a lot of dialogue, but Eketone-Whitu is able to get across so much with his facial expressions and mannerisms that his character becomes one of the most interesting and comical (above). Rollestone too is exceptional, endearing audiences at first with his winning smile, childish naivety and innocence, and then with his maturity when he realises that between he and his father, he is not the child after all. As one of the few grown-ups in the movie, Waititi proves himself a triple threat with a performance that is flamboyant, complex and down-right hilarious as a man-child with more than a few issues. It would be hard to steal this film from the kids, but he gets close.

As a director he knows exactly what he wants from each shot and gets it. Shooting everything in a subtle and skilled fashion, Waititi also incorporates some animated sequences, which are a nice touch and prove to be quite insightful. He has come a long way from his Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night (on which this film is based), but carries on with his slightly autistic and sarcastic brand of humour that has seen Flight Of The Concords become a worldwide success. Although this is a lot more accessible than the work of Jermaine and Bret, people who remember the eighties are likely to revel in the volume of pop culture references mention everything from The Hulk to E.T.

Boy is charming film that will leave you laughing and sniffing in equal measure. Likely to be the sleeper hit of the year, it might just see its team trotting up the red carpet at the Oscars once more. Be sure to stay for the end credits, which feature the cast doing a hilarious combination of the Haka and Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Boy is out in cinemas on Thursday, August 26. Stay tuned for my exclusive, extensive and awesome-ive interview with the lovely Taika Waititi next week.