Recently, New Zealand native Waititi has made a splash with What We Do in the Shadows, his mockumentary about the private lives of vampires, and has even been tabbed by Marvel Studios to direct the next Thor blockbuster, but his earlier film Boy is what first got him noticed.
His look at native life in rural New Zealand during the mid- eighties captures the fleeting innocence of childhood. Boy (Rolleston), a scrawny twelve-year-old with an affinity for Michael Jackson, is tasked with watching his younger brother Rocky and a slew of cousins while his grandmother is away, but things get wild when Boy's estranged, criminal father (Waititi) reappears.
Waititi shows the lives of average natives in New Zealand, instead of the war paint wearing behemoths we have come to associate with the Mauri people here in America. In fact, Boy depicts native New Zealander life very similarly to what we see on reservations in America.
It's very interesting to see Boy and his family and friends interact on a daily basis. They run free across the town, where everybody know everybody, without a care. But as the film continues, you see that all of them are only a few years away from joining their fathers in jail or activities that could send them to jail.
Boy manages to remain an upbeat and energetic film, even while dealing with tough issues like broken families, drug use and death. Waititi's creative take on Boy and his father's rough relationship is both light and poignant, making the film an entertaining watch for anyone who is a fan of Waititi or Michael Jackson.
His look at native life in rural New Zealand during the mid- eighties captures the fleeting innocence of childhood. Boy (Rolleston), a scrawny twelve-year-old with an affinity for Michael Jackson, is tasked with watching his younger brother Rocky and a slew of cousins while his grandmother is away, but things get wild when Boy's estranged, criminal father (Waititi) reappears.
Waititi shows the lives of average natives in New Zealand, instead of the war paint wearing behemoths we have come to associate with the Mauri people here in America. In fact, Boy depicts native New Zealander life very similarly to what we see on reservations in America.
It's very interesting to see Boy and his family and friends interact on a daily basis. They run free across the town, where everybody know everybody, without a care. But as the film continues, you see that all of them are only a few years away from joining their fathers in jail or activities that could send them to jail.
Boy manages to remain an upbeat and energetic film, even while dealing with tough issues like broken families, drug use and death. Waititi's creative take on Boy and his father's rough relationship is both light and poignant, making the film an entertaining watch for anyone who is a fan of Waititi or Michael Jackson.