Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) Movie Review

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) An absolute gem of a film. A must see movie!!!!!

This was incredibly funny, I loved it, all the actors played their parts well, I laughed Thru 90% and I say 90 because truthfully a few bits hit the feels, but its well worth the watch and the scenery is amazing, nothing like seeing your beautiful country on a big screen, so if your in to minds, set it to the bright side and go watch this you wont regret it, it was good so see Sam Neil again, and can see we are welcoming in a bright new shinning star to our comedy movies, so I feel like NZ has brought out another great film that can me us proud Its a very authentic view of new Zealand, few twist and turns unexpected moment, but don't be afraid to laugh out load you just cant help it


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.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople was one of my top movies at Sundance. The film used symbolism expertly. The director was able to convey powerful symbolism through something as small as a rubber water container. It was used as a symbol for home. It showed that in a harsh world full of rejection, what we all really want as humans is to be loved and wanted by other people. This movie shows that even though people can have a hard time trusting others with themselves, relentless love can break down barriers. In the movie, Ricky shows us that even though being truly loved by someone can feel foreign and awkward, once you get a taste of it, you never want to let it go. Through the rubber water container symbol, the film shows that when life circumstances change, we still just want intimate relationships with other people. Although it may appear different on the outside, it will always be similar at its core.

This movie also shows how much our pasts want to dictate our future. We see outcasts of society searching for freedom from who they were, but how people around them are trying to not let that happen. Where they find the most freedom is exactly where society is trying to rip them out of. They would rather keep in the lowest levels of civilization rather than let them have their freedom. Just like with these characters, the world will identify us most by the things we least like about ourselves. Whether it is an addiction, or a mistake we would rather forget, these are the things the world continually wants us to live in rather than finding freedom from them. It is a fight to live in that freedom rather than being dragged down to believing we are still those same people from our pasts. This film shows that freedom is possible. No matter what is in our past, that does not have to be who we are today, but it is a battle. We will have to run, fight, or go against what people around us are telling us to do, but we must seek to live in that freedom. This film is fraught with other symbols and social commentaries. It is at the top of my list of recommendations for people to see.