Be-Wilderpeople

I queued up Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) because it is a well-reviewed Taika Waititi movie. I was intending to do a series of movies about orphans, that just happened.

It starts with rotund child Julian Dennison (Firefist from Deadpool 2) being taken to a new foster home, deep in the New Zealand countryside. Child welfare agent Rachel Hall drops him off, with much bureaucratic bullshit about "no child left behind" - but lets them know that Dennison is a rotten kid who probably should be left behind. His foster "aunt" is warm, silly Rima Te Wiata, married to sour, silent Sam Neill. Dennison runs away the first night, but doesn't get far. After awhile, Te Wiata's cooking and hot water bottle in bed bring him around. She also takes him boar hunting and gets him his own dog.

This doesn't last long. She drops dead, and after a terrible funeral, Neill lets Dennison know that he is heading for the bush, and child services will come and take him. Instead, he takes off for the bush. Neill comes after him, but breaks his ankle. So they set up bush camp and stay for a while. But civilization, and that child services lady are on their trail. It's hard to tell if they think Neill is a pervert who has kidnapped the boy, or if Dennison is a criminal on the run with Neill (who has a rough past that includes methylated spirits and a jail term for manslaughter). 

So that's the main part of the movie: chubby, disturbed but decent Dennison and prickly bush-wise Neill on the run. I won't spoil any of it except to say: a dog does die in this movie. It is handled with dignity, but no way to avoid it.

It isn't too realistic, but not too silly. Hall's "no child left behind"/"zero tolerance" ranting get a little surreal, until finally a policeman tells her that that's more of an American thing. And she can't borrow his taser because someone else checked it out, and hasn't returned it yet. The NZ scenery is beautiful and you get a little bit of a feel for living out in it - but not much. For instance, Dennison goes from a citified gangsta-wannabe to keeping up on long treks pretty seamlessly. 

But he stays a kid. He does stupid things, even when they turn out OK. He even almost-sorta gets the girl in the end - Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, a dream girl whose long hair swings in slow motion.

I have to admit I had a preconceived notion about this movie. I assumed that their trek would end with them finding some Maori, high in the mountains, who would teach them the old ways. But those aren't the wilderpeople. This is not The Valley (Obscured by Clouds) with a kid. If you want to know who the wilderpeople are, see the movie. 

By the way, turns out this was based on a book by Barry Crump. Ms. Spenser was turned on to this author by an Aussie friend many many years ago. Should have guessed - how many big New Zealand authors are there, after Ngaio Marsh?