Review of Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) by Anthony K — 07 Jan 2017

It would be easy to call the comedic style of "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" British, but that isn't quite fair since it instead hails from New Zealand (a stone's throw of roughly 11,500 miles). The two nations seem to share a sensibility in the straight-faced, subdued, and matter of fact way they approach comedy though. In their review of this film, the Filmspotting podcast compared it fondly to Monty Python minus the highbrow jokes of an Oxford crowd. It points fun at the absurdity of real life and the character who inhabit it without leaning heavily on broad humor or letting the characters' quirks run the show. In that way, it is very Monty Python and writer-director Taika Waititi owes them points for inspiration.

Other than that though, "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" is clearly the work of a singular voice. Coming off of the dizzying high of his directorial collaboration with Jemaine Clemente "What We Do in the Shadows" this is a much more restrained effort that owes as many of its gags to timing and framing choices as it does to its actual content. A movie about the developing bond of a streetwise teenager from the inner city with a grizzled, illiterate woodsman could have been played for easy gags and broad laughs, but the result is instead rather subdued. Their relationship is given space to grow and their quirks never become overpowering. In short, I felt like I was watching real people stumble into absurd situations. It's always refreshing when a comedic storyteller can rely on their characters' humanity before venturing into the bizarre.

A fun, weird, and touching trip about what it means to be family even if you accidentally shoot each other from time to time. 7.7/10.