Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Boy is kiwi magic

Posted by lea at 3:07 PM

Boy is a charming Kiwi film about 11 year old Boy growing up in Waihau Bay, New Zealand. Boy and his younger brother Rocky live with their grandmother, since their father has been jailed and their mother died during childbirth. He loves Michael Jackson, dreams of his heroic father, and drools over local pretty girl Chardonnay.

Boy's life takes a turn when his father, played by actor and director Taika Waititi, shows up with his Crazy Horse gang (two fairly incompetent friends) to find his buried cash. A humorous and heartwarming film, Boy's best assets are the beautifully understated performances of the two main kid actors, James Rolleston (Boy) and Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu (Rocky).

The script is full of humour, mostly quirky with an occasional broad streak, and the drama is downplayed. The Kiwis, like the British, have a hard time expressing their emotions, but they don't disguise it with a stuff upper lip. Instead you get great human moments of raw awkwardness that are touching and warm.

My only criticism would be that perhaps the story is too underplayed, which could potentially leave a lack of emotional connection. The single crux of the film is that Boy's dreams of his father are crumbled when he sees his fallibility (hilariously portrayed in Michael Jackon-esque scenes), but it's a slow journey and the climax lacks the oomph that we expect in great cinema. However, on the whole, Boy is a lovely film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

6 comments:

Caesar on August 18, 2010 at 12:38 PM said...

Hehe... reminds of this ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qfqs7EvqNQ

snowdomes on August 18, 2010 at 12:47 PM said...

You watched this with a freebie ticket didn't you?

lea on August 18, 2010 at 12:52 PM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
lea on August 18, 2010 at 1:13 PM said...

@caesar: that's great! I love Kiwi humour :)

@snowdomes: but of course. I should spruik them actually: seefilmsfirst

Caesar on August 20, 2010 at 10:46 AM said...

Gees, between that and the Contagious Network that Nat's joined, you probably won't have to pay to see a movie ever again!

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