5 ideas about a movie: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Good day, my dear readers!

Welcome to another film review written in an airport. This time, we are discussing a New Zeland’s flick Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

IMDb summary: A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.

1. Hunt for the Wilderpoeple was the first picture from New Zealand that I have seen (Lord of the Rings does not count), so it acted as my introduction to the whole cinema scene of the country. And, let me tell you, as introductions go, this one was not bad, not bad at all. The film was written and directed by Taika Waititi, who has made a couple of critically acclaimed movies and who has been getting a lot of media attention for being chosen to direct the 3rd Thor film for Marvel. He has also been having a lot of fun with this gig on twitter, posting photos and funny bits from the set, thus, earning the love of fans as well.
2. Waititi’s writing for Hunt for the Wilderpeople was quite nice. I loved how he approached the format of a coming of age story: he managed to make it simultaneously very traditional looking (with the chapter structure) and also very modern (with the ideas on family, how it can be chosen instead or being born into). I also enjoyed the fact that this movie was very down to earth: the drama, as well as the comedy, arose from the daily lives of the rural people. The idea to use haikus to express the characters’ feelings was excellent and unique too. The main character’s references to various films, like Scarface and Terminator, were welcomed too. Lastly, the heartwarming ending was just such a nice way to close this story.
3. Waititi’s directing was also great. His filmmaking style involved a lot of visual comedy, similar to Edgar Wright’s style. The comedy was very snappy and quick but also kinda violent. I also liked the fact that Waititi managed to portray a single concept from a few different angles with drastically different outcomes. For example, the first montage with a boar was a pure comedy (even if a bit disturbing), while the second one was much more brutal and drama-like. There were also quite a few other montages, which were used both for comedy purposes and to show the passage of time in the narrative.
4. Hunt for the Wilderpoeple’s forest and bush survival parts were reminiscent of two other recent pictures – Captain Fantastic and The Lobster (might want to check them out if you liked this one). However, only Hunt had the amazing sweeping shots of the New Zealand’s forests – they were an amazing sight to behold and felt like refreshing breaks in a film, jam-packed with fast-paced montages. In addition, Waititi’s magnificent visuals were accompanied by a superb soundtrack by Lukasz Buda, Samuel Scott, and Conrad Wedde. I loved all the combinations of the visuals and the sounds, like the sacral tunes and rural views and the almost Hollywood-like action film chase sequence supplemented with techno music.
5. Hunt for the Wilderpeople had a very talented cast as well: Sam Neill (who I didn’t recognize even though Jurassic Park is my favorite film) starred as the grumpy uncle Hec and did a neat job. Rima Te Wiata as the aunt Bella made an impact even if she only had a few scenes, while Rachel House’s Paula, a child welfare worker, was brilliantly funny. Julian Dennison was also amazing as Ricky. He made the somewhat annoying character into an actually likable and well-rounded person.

In short, Hunt for the Wilderpeople was a great endearing and quirky picture from New Zealand. It had a unique story, amazing directing from a future Marvel star (hopefully), and an excellent soundtrack.

Rate: 4.25/5

Trailer: Hunt for the Wilderpeople trailer