Hunt for the Wilderpeople movie poster from IMDb
Hands down one of my favourite films thus far. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is hard to dislike; from the casts to the cinematography to the underlying messages behind the story, the movie was really enjoyable to watch. To start things off, the movie, Taika Waititi did an excellent job in bringing out the true untouched beauty of the New Zealand bush. Bringing through mossy forests and lakes high above in the mountains. **SPOILER ALERT!!** Bella did mention to Ricky at one point, that when she died, she will return to the lake that touches the sky, in the end, her ashes were scattered by her husband, Hec, on top on a waterfall that is located near the peak of a mountain, and that scene was a sight to behold for its virgin, untouched natural beauty.
What I also particularly liked about Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the symbolic meaning of surviving in the bush away from normal society. Even before Ricky's arrival, both Hec and Bella were cut off from the outside world, as the police car and Child Protection Services had to traverse far away from the nearest town and through unpaved roads to get to Bella and Hec's home. With the addition of Ricky to the family, the family became a group who is physically separated from normal society. As the movie progresses, we can see that the three of them are deemed as misfits to normal society, as all three of them are abandoned by their parents since young with no place to go. For Ricky, staying in Bella's and Hec's home is a welcoming reprieve to the challenges he has to endure back in modern civilization, as he fears being wound up in juvenile prison if he returns to town with Paula, the Child Protection Services Agent. Upon Bella's death, Child Protection Services sent Hec a letter demanding Ricky's return to them, hence Ricky decides to run away into the bush. Before he ran away, he lit a dummy of himself on fire, and saying "Goodbye, Ricky", he is essentially announcing his separation from society and to roam as a free man in the bush who is not tied down to societal standards.
When Hec joined Ricky on his adventure, he fractured his ankle and had to stay in the bush for three weeks, and at that time, newspapers were reporting about the two's disappearance, as well as accusing Hec for kidnapping Ricky. He is deemed as dangerous by the public for a manslaughter case and abandoned childhood back in his youth, so the both of them began to go on the run from authorities by surviving in the bush. To me, this situation is rather ironic because for two people who were initially outcasted by society at first, all eyes were suddenly on them when they were deemed as fugitives from hiding in the bush. It is as if the whole of society cannot stand when they see people who are living beyond the system of their own society and are free to do whatever they please, and they immediately launched a manhunt to get the both of them back to be judged by societal rules. And it was interesting to note that the both of them, who essentially had nothing to do with the outside world, was suddenly described as armed and dangerous because of their past that society judges them to be an undesired fit within their community. Hence, it was irony at its best when modern society wants two people who were initially outcasted by them back, where the point was made all the more emphasised and dramatic when a platoon of police vehicles, helicopters and tanks were chasing them on the open plains.
The growth of a relationship between two misfits was also heartwarming to watch as Hec, who was cold towards Ricky at first, becomes more open and nice towards Ricky as they spent more of their days in the bush together. The bond between the both of them are strikingly similar to the relationship between the old man and Russell in the Pixar movie, Up.
Eeriely similar, isn't it? (Movie poster from IMDb)
Both told the tale of how an old man who was quiet and cold at first showed a more human side of himself with the presence of his wife, and returned to his cold, quiet self upon the death of his wife. Both these stories were also about how a small, chubby, talkative boy who knows nothing about nature and real adventure coming into the lives of the old man and going on adventures with him before he begins to open up and showed his warm, caring side to the boy again. Both films showed the relationship between man and dog on their adventures together and how dogs can help man out of sticky situations at most times. Finally, both films also showed how the both of them stumbled upon a bird who was thought to be extinct at first by society. The similarities are so strikingly similar in my opinion that Hunt for the Wilderpeople just seemed like a more gory and explicit version of Up, with their bloody animal murdering scenes and dirty jokes (Hint: Ricky using finger gestures to describe Lord of the Rings to Hec) But nevertheless, this is a film of adventure and relationships, and it's a film I would recommend for people who love adventures and wit to watch.
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