A Incrível Aventura de Rick Baker

Oak Cliff Film Festival 2016 Greetings again from the darkness. It just doesn't seem very many movies are designed to be funny to a wide range of viewers. There are raunchy comedies for taboo lovers. There are comedies for young kids. There are even Nicolas Cage movies for unintentional laughs. But writer/director Taika Waititi actually delivers a thoroughly entertaining movie that will generate laughs across multiple generations … it's quite simply, a fun time at the theatre.

It's based on the 1986 book "Wild Pork and Watercress" by Barry Crump, who himself is a bit of a legendary figure in New Zealand. The film begins with Child Protective Services (or whatever it's called in New Zealand) dropping off 12 year old Ricky Baker to his new foster family. Paula, the CPS agent, considers Ricky a lost cause and describes him as "a very bad egg" as she rattles off his list of previous rebellions to new foster mom Bella, who takes note of Ricky's heft with a couple of wisecracks – delivered with a well-meaning smile.

In a terrific screen introduction, "Uncle" Hec slowly comes into frame flashing a world class scowl and a wild boar slung over his shoulder. Ricky continues his habit of running away at night, but Bella slowly wins him over with her kindness, understanding and breakfast offerings. A tragic occurrence and fear of being shipped back to the juvenile center, has Ricky disappearing into the New Zealand bush. Soon enough Hec catches up and the two begin a relationship that is the core of the film.

Rima Te Wiata plays Bella as a perpetually optimistic woman with a sincere drive to help Ricky adjust and find some joy in life. Sam Neill plays Hec in full grumpy curmudgeon mode … a nice compliment to the extraordinary presence of Julian Dennison (Paper Planes) as Ricky. Ricky and Hec together are a hoot to watch. It's not simply the generational differences, but also a clash of one man who wants little more than to be left alone and a young boy who wants little more than to be noticed and cared about. It's not so much the direction of their relationship that surprises, but rather the manner in which it develops.

Director Waititi's next film is Thor: Ragnarok, so this makes us appreciate even more his pleasant little indie film that features not just colorful and interesting characters, but the beautiful landscape of the New Zealand bush … much of which we see during the humorous manhunt for Hec and Ricky. It's a farcical comedy with a dose of profundity and loads of adventure for two social misfits. Rachel House is pretty funny as the obsessed CPS worker, and Rhys Darby ("Flight of the Conchords") is downright hilarious as Psycho Sam. Watching criminial-wannabe Ricky literally count off his Haiku, leaves little doubt as to why this one has been such an "audience favorite" at multiple film festivals.

Taika Waititi is starting to make some real waves in the film making industry. It's as simple as this - every film he makes, people like. In fact, people like them so much he's been trusted with the directorial duties in the next 'Thor' film 'Thor: Ragnarok'. That's big and shows people trust him with making their film. That decision was made prior to the release of 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' but I can confirm that this film will do his reputation no harm. In fact it's going to do it a lot of good. It's a very fine film and in my opinion his best yet.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'What We Do in the Shadows' but my one qualm with it was I felt it lacked a story to drive the humour. The man learns from his errors fast though and there is no such problem here. The story, while simple, is a driving force and makes sure things never get mundane or boring. Also helping this is a terrific cast of actors. Julian Dennison in the lead role blew me away and showed comedic timing far beyond his years. Sam Neill was as fantastic as ever and every cameo throughout is terrific and hilarious in its own way.

The film not only manages to make us laugh though, it also has a heart. There are some very sad and moving elements to the film which are handled exquisitely by Waititi. He makes us think and sobers us occasionally but never takes us away from the fun time we're having with the story. There's a lot more to the film than I expected going in. It has layers and works on a lot of levels. I can't say enough good things about this film. An absolute pleasure to sit through.

This movie is really good - I have to say I enjoyed it and would probably see it again.

A far more developed example of what Waititi can do as a director and storyteller; the film has examples of pathos, comedy, action, drama, art film, satire, good cinematography and even a few decent VFX shots. His last film, vampire mockumentary "What We Do in the Shadows" was a lot of fun but also a narrative disappointment, despite NZ media committing to expose the film and help generate sales. Something of a misguided indulgence, "Shadows" made the mistake of letting three or four (very) minor indie celebs improvise in digital for many, many hours, then the director tried to create a concrete whole in editing and post. Didn't work. Great intro though.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople focuses on the life of Ricky Baker - a young, overweight, orphaned juvenile offender that idealizes hip hop and creates haiku poetry as a method of externalizing emotional conflict, due to the influence of counseling and therapy sessions. Stuck in New Zealand's sub-par youth welfare system (known for endless governmental restructuring with little or no substantive improvement), Ricky ends up on a rotting farm somewhere in the rural back blocks with foster parents.

The film clearly shows elements of the barren, social realist film of early 80s NZ, but with bigger, better cinematography, and Waititi's indie sense of the quirky and offbeat. "Quirky" can become a meaningless attribution in today's market of indie features where anybody and everybody can have a go at being "quirky" to make up for budget and spectacle, but this film also has real nuance and character development, and a quality cast that seem to get the idea of being a bit "quirky" and "meta" without forgetting that emotional investment is what an audience really needs to feel involved with the story. Rachel House is hilarious. So's the director in an excellent cameo.

Some of the early scenes don't read as naturally as they could, and also Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne's mother in the film is referred to but is never actually seen for unknown reasons. In addition, New Zealanders might complain about the films location improbabilities, but that's been standard practice in US features for years. Cool movie!! Go see it!!

A brilliant funny movie that still respects the sadness that happens in life but tries to show you that fun and laughter can still be our main focus.

I think this is the best so far of Taika Waititi's films and recommend it to anyone to see. I saw it after a long-tiring week at work and I half expected to nod off in the cinema theatre because I was so tired. But I didn't. I laughed and chuckled most of the way through the film and came away re-energized and very happy I had gone.

Would see again if the opportunity came up, which is likely as most of my friends are raving about it and a few are wanting me to go with them to see it again!

I saw this movie last night in Hokitika. There was a queue outside, which caused comment enough amongst the locals, as this never happens. The cinema was packed with an amazing demographic of people, for example, on one side of me were toddlers with their Mums, on the other a lone hunter-type and behind me a group of retired farmer ladies. I think this speaks volumes on the draw of this film. To put it simply, it ticks all the right boxes. Everyone in Aotearoa (NZ) will know these characters in some form or another; from the gruff old bushman, to the earthy mother figure and the chillaxed cop. It is that familiarity that makes it more engrossing and funny. But not just here, its mix of subtle bathos and pathos will make it universally appealing, of that I am certain. In short: Good on ya, Taika! 'Marvellous' film!