Review of Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) by Timothy A — 08 Jun 2016
This movie by wonderful New Zealand director Taika Waititi was the hit of the recent Sundance Film Festival and it is easy to see why. It is almost perfect in every way, both tragic and comic, while retaining a unique New Zealand identity.
Sam Neill is probably the only actor who people would have heard of and he is, as ever, superb, But the supporting cast of quirky New Zealanders are just as good playing a variety of ingenues and assorted nutters.
Psycho Sam is hilarious and deserves a movie of his own. Julian Dennison, as our teenage hero Ricky Baker, is a superb piece of casting and the most unlikely of leads. The New Zealand scenery is beautiful and the soundtrack full of classics from Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone and Bob Marley, frames the film perfectly.
Roald Dahl would have been proud of the characterisation with larger than life villains and eccentric oddballs, as an old man, his young foster son and two mangy mutts flee to the New Zealand outback to stop the authorities returning the child to the welfare services.
It is impossible for a simple review to do this film justice so take my advice and go and see it now!
This review of Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) was written by Timothy A on 08 Jun 2016.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople has generally received very positive reviews.
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