Boy

I'll start, unfairly perhaps for any new movie, by comparing it with thoughts that other NZ movies have left me with - only to explain how it left me feeling. I am smiling as I recall the movie and type this. A good sign! So, Eagle v Shark's quirkiness. Whale Rider's pathos & culture. Bro Town's language skills (who'd have thought "Egg" would be so eloquent a derogatory remark!) Second Hand Wedding's humanity, commentary on relationships & our overall resilience. Good things will happen. Every Boy's natural instinct to worship their father - irrespective of whether he's earned it or not - is shown against the halcyon backdrop of an east coast life in Godzone. I laughed out loud at Rockys apology for abuse of his special powers to knock an old fella over. I ached when Boy's Dad returned and the interactions between them - the hero worship meeting with reality; a coming of age. Taika's now customary expansion of characters was excellent - flawed, bravado filled fragile wee worlds we all build up. I have not served Boy adequately in this random review - its an amazing film. 9/10. Made me feel happy & glad to be alive and living in NZ.

"Boy" is a light, feel-good movie about a boy who was called Boy (James Rolleston). He told fanciful stories, otherwise known as lies, about himself and his father, Alamein (Taika Waititi). The movie takes place in 1984 when Michael Jackson was at his peak fame, and Boy was his number one fan (at least in New Zealand). When his father came home from prison to search for his hidden loot, Boy wanted nothing more than to hang out with him. Alamein hadn't matured at all in prison, and he returned as a terrible influence on his son.

"Boy" is funny and easy to watch. There are very few adults in the film which allows you to experience life in New Zealand through the eyes of the indigenous children. Boy is an especially interesting character which makes the entire movie interesting.

AMC+ channel on Amazon Prime.

I had been told how funny this movie was, and there are quite a few chuckles in the first 20 minutes or so, and then it buckles down to show us the real story of pre-pubescence in a rural community and the father-son thing. It was explored in depth and very well too, and never gets nasty as some NZ movies can do, but still wrings your heart out. The end-piece was stunning, utilising the obsession with a teenage Michael Jackson and humour as only the NZ Maori do. I left the theatre with mixed feelings but since then I have felt buoyed up (sorry) and am remembering it fondly. Will definitely see it again and may add it to my small collection of NZ films. Others have mentioned Eagle and Shark and Secondhand Wedding, but this is more historical and captures the era perfectly. Well done all - especially to all the actors under 20, we know the adults can act, but these fellas will be worth watching out for in the future.

There are very few movies coming out of NZ that are memorable at all, and stumbling upon such a gem is quite a rarity!

I rarely take time to write reviews, but I felt that this movies deserves one:)

There is hardly any fault in this movie from direction and acting perspective, although I have to reckon I have never heard of anyone from the main movie credits... Combining unknown actors with a very simple script is a recipe for disaster, in general,BUT not in this film. I think the charm of the movie comes from kids that are playing their roles just perfect:innocent but responsible when need it.

The last scene of the movie makes you feel that you've just experienced something unique that comes on the screen once in 10 years!

If you manage to get the DVD, invite some friends over and have an '80 night at the movies: all of them they'll feel happy at the end!

Introspective narrative can work profound change, and this is a good example.

The story is simple enough: New Zealand native village; extreme poverty; passel of young kids establishing the world of the narrative.

One of these is our narrator, the Boy, about ten. His primary concern is how he appears to his mates and the local girls. Various comic devices set the tone before his father arrives back from prison. We then see some endearing shared fantasies, before Boy gets the truth about his Dad as selfishly irresponsible. The shape is generally called "coming of age." Thousands of these have been made. They have a built in minimal appeal, and great constraints on the ability to say anything new.

But this does have something new, thanks to the apparently limitless gateway of self- reference. We watch the movie that includes an inner movie of the boy's life, composed of fragments of other movies. We've had this since "Breathless," of course. The fragments have to do with roles associated with the father, mostly war movies, and about Boy, mostly Michael Jackson videos.

Here's something new: after we get all that settled, there is a second inner movie fold that appears, the Dad and his cohorts. He brings his own inner movie, different than Boy's. It is one of a rebel gang: James Dean, Marlon Brando. Boy tries to adapt his inner movie to his dad's and in the process breaks both.

Along the way, there is a spectrum of what we see: the narrator in the film, his ordinary life, his fantasies as he sees them. His fantasies as we see them. His dad's fantasies as he, we and Boy sees them.

Taika Cohen wrote, directed and stars as the dad. It is good, very good.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.