Boy

Boy is a coming-of-age film directed by Taika Waititi. The main character, Boy, is a young Māori child living in rural New Zealand with his younger brother Rocky. Boy’s mother died giving birth to Rocky, and their father has been absent ever since. When their grandmother leaves, Boy is put in charge, and soon his father, Alamein, returns. Boy imagines this as a chance for connection, but it turns out Alamein is really searching for buried money.

The best part? The movie shows all of this through the lens of a child. That means exaggerated fight scenes, wild daydreams, and, subtly, in the way we notice everything as children but don’t fully understand it, Boy exposes the messy, complicated realities of relationships among friends and family with honesty and humor. You grow up and form a new worldview along with him—it’s fun and nostalgic. 

The cinematography will be egging you on the entire way too! Bright colors, high-contrast shots, and dreamlike tints will keep the world feeling as imaginative and full of possibilities as it once did. Upbeat tracks and whimsical rhythms that follow Boy around will accompany you on your optimistic revisitation of childhood.

But be sure to look deeper, there’s much more. Take the setting, for instance. Boy is set in 1980s New Zealand, a time of increasing globalization. The film reflects a rural Māori community navigating these outside influences. We see this in Boy’s love of Michael Jackson, Alamein’s obsession with E.T and Shōgun, and even their clothes. Perhaps more discreetly than Alamein’s beat up Sedan, the influence of global pop culture creeps up through boy’s ambition to leave the countryside and go to the city. I must also mention the haka the movie finishes off with that shows the balance modernity and tradition can strike.