Movie: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Hunt for the Wilderpeople: a New Zealand adventure comedy.  This delightful film is set in rural New Zealand.  The film opens with a social worker and a police officer delivering 13 year old Ricky Bates to foster parents living in the countryside.  Paula (Rachel House), the social worker, describes Ricky as a bad kid who’s being given one last chance.  Bella (Rima Te Wiata), the foster mom, greets Ricky with a hug and good humor.  While introductions are being made, Bella’s husband, Hec (Sam Neil), is returning from a hunt.  It is very clear that being a foster parent is solely Bella’s idea.  During the first night at the cabin, Ricky runs away but doesn’t get far.  When he awakes in the bush, Bella and her dog are there.  Bella and Hec live off the land, and Ricky, played marvelously by Julian Dennison, becomes part of the family.  It turns out that Ricky is just a kid who never spent any time with an adult who actually cared about him.  Then Bella dies.  At this point, the movie becomes far more than just a schmaltzy tale about a kid needing love.  Hec and Ricky leave the cabin and go into the bush.  The rest of this 101 minute film is about their experiences and the social worker’s pursuit of them.  The only minus to this film is that the social worker never grows beyond a one-dimensional character.  The cinematography by Lachlan Milne is beautiful.  What makes this film a must see is the interplay between Hec and Ricky; their chemistry is remarkable.  Taika Waititi’s screenplay and direction maintains a lightness and cheer to what could otherwise be a very common tale.  Like chapters in a book, each segment of this film has its own title.  The movie is based upon Wild Pork and Watercress, a novel by the late New Zealand writer, Barry Crump.