50 new things in 2023, part 5/50

[kindkit]

This week's new thing was the film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, written and directed by Taika Waititi. It's about a young New Zealand boy who's been in a series of foster homes, then finally finds one where he's happy--but some things go wrong, and he ends up on the run in the wilderness with his curmudgeonly foster-uncle. It's about one-third comedy, one-third heartwarming found-family drama, and one-third adventure/thriller as the two end up the subjects of a nation-wide manhunt.

Tonally and in certain details it has a lot in common with Our Flag Means Death, which makes me wonder how much influence Waititi had, behind the scenes, on OFMD's writing.

I don't have a ton to say about it, but it was mostly a lot of fun and the scenery was fantastic. I also enjoyed Taika's cameo and Rhy Darby, who I didn't know was in this but who damn near steals the show.

Below the cut are a couple of content notes I wanted to mention: the film contains human death, animal harm and death (specifically the death of the uncle's dog), and a few completely unnecessary fat jokes, which didn't ruin the movie for me but did make it less enjoyable.

Comments

[pallas_rose]

I loved that movie. It made me cry several times. His foster aunt 😭😭😭😭

[kindkit]

I had no idea that was coming, and I may have yelled "Oh my god, no!" loud enough for the neighbors to hear. I wonder if somebody's written fanfic in which she doesn't die--she's such a great character and it was genuinely upsetting to lose her.