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Canberra Today 12°/16° | Saturday, March 30, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Review / ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ (PG) **** and a bit

search for the wilderbeast movieCANBERRA cinema audiences aren’t given to clapping. But they clapped after previewing Taika Waititi’s comedy based on “Wild Pork and Watercress”, Barry Crump’s only novel ever filmed.

Waititi, now working in America, wrote and directed “Boy” which pleased Australian audiences. Crump was an NZ humourist on a par with Murray Ball from “Footrot Flats”.

The film’s mise en scene, evokes a sense of “Thelma and Louise” using male protagonists. An improbable relationship begins when child protection officer Paula delivers city kid Ricky, whom previous foster-parents have declared intractable, to the rundown farmhouse where Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hector live.

Hector doesn’t get on with people. When Bella, wise and warm-hearted, suddenly dies, Ricky flees into the bush to avoid going back to the institution. Hector finds him faring not too well. Everybody reckons that Hector must be a pederast taking advantage of the boy.

A long chase ensues through the wilderness culminating in a demolition derby involving cop cars and military fighting vehicles in the Rangipo Desert.

Ricky (Julian Dennison) and Hector (Sam Neill) initially deliver a delightful comic antagonism that becomes less prickly as they discover their need of each other for survival. Paula’s (Rachel House) injured professional self-esteem, mobilising police and army to hunt the pair down, becomes their nemesis.

Those three actors are great to watch. The supporting characters do good things for the story, especially the hermit Psycho Sam (Rhys Darby) who views authority with a blend of terror and defiance. The NZ wilderness provides terrific locations. The plot sags a little in the middle but has the chops to grab and enhance audience enthusiasm as the tension builds and the conflict resolves.

At Palace Electric

 

 

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Dougal Macdonald

Dougal Macdonald

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