Spoilers

So i spent my money i won at the film quiz on Taika Waititi films, got a problem with that. Earlier in the year this was supposed to be one of the films for Beach Cinema on Taika fricken birthday but due to the weather it got cancelled & i was gutted. So i am now watching this while everyone else in my house is on holiday. I’m going to have an evening in the New Zealand outback.

Popcorn Synopsis for you all

Ricky Baker, a trouble maker who is always breaking the rules & has no real family, is taken by social services, to live in a remote farm with foster mother Bella Faulkner and her husband Hec, who is a bit of a loner & doesnt really want Ricky . Ricky trys to run off but only goes like 400 yards, Bella teaches him a lot of life skills & on Rickys birthday gives hima pet dog he calls Tupac after the rapper as Ricky thinks he is a gangster.
When Bella suddenly dies and Hec tells Ricky that child services will take him back, Ricky burns down the barn & pretends hes dead & runs away. Hec realises this & goes after Ricky, but breaks his ankle. He Ricky & the two dogs set up camp in the New Zealand bush but social services realise something has happened & start looking for them. They eventually reach a hut, but there are rangers there who know Ricky & Hec are wanted. Ricky proclaims shit just got real & threatens them when they try to hurt Hec & the two of them escape, after threatening the rangers with a gun. Hec starts to confide in Ricky about his past & tells him he was once in prison. The pair make a pact to protect each other & continue to run away.
After being on the run for a few months & causing a nationwide manhunt, Ricky runs for help when they find a ill ranger. He meets a girl who offers him clothes & shelter but she & her family dont turn them in & offer any assistance. Upon returning to Hec in the hut, he realises not only has he gone but social services are there. Ricky confronts them before running off again, when they offer him a deal to not go back to kids prison. He eventually catches up to Hec & they continue there travels. One of their dogs is attacked & killed by a wild pig. It is at this point that Ricky reveals that he only ran away to scatter Bella ashes where she wanted them to go, on the edge of a waterfall where the clouds meet the sky.
They then meet another man in a hut called psycho Sam who is dressed as a bush & offers them shelter.
The following day the police & social services have tracked them down & a huge car chase ensues which they almost escape from, if it wasnt for a helicopter following them too. By accident Rick shoots Hec & screams alerting social services. They take Ricky back pretending to be the heros & arrest Hec. Ricky goes on to live with the girl & family he met earlier on in the film & meets up with Hec when he is released by the police. They visit each other from time to time & decide to take regular trips back into the New Zealand bush to take photos of a rare bird they found on there adventure which will bring them both fame & fortune.

This is probably Taika best work todate. The whole set up & relationship is just perfection & you just sit there & watch it with everything thats going on & behind all the drama & cinema & landscapes is a real coming of age film & its just amazing.

I’m going to say it please dont hate me but i think this is Sam Neills best performance. The fact that his first word are Leave me alone are brilliant. Loving friendly Sam Neill whos always been there for you is now the ragged old man in the bush who just like nah no way am i bonding with this kid. Which is why his journey is more impressive & personal that Rickys.

I mean the relationship has to work if the other part of it is on form too & Julian Dennison as Ricky is just so brilliant & what he brings to the film is everything. I love all the little montages they make him so & the sudden facial changes & the randomness of it all. It Taika at his maddest but its probably the most pure & real performance ever.

I think that is what makes it so heartbreaking at the end, when he goes to see him when hes got his new family & Hec is back in society. They started off wanting nothing to do with one another & in the end they genuinely would do anything for one & other. The hug always gets me & makes me wobble.

When they take on those guys & Hec is getting beaten up is one of the funniest bits of the film. Ricky gets to live out his gangster dream with the gun & shout out Shit just got real. & then for Hec to go nah you cant do that your a kid before taking the gun of him firing it & then yelling Shit just got real back at them is perfect comedy. Its brilliant.

They couldnt us the song happy birthday in the film due to copyright reasons… the hell so they had to make up a birthday song on the spot… thats brilliant. The Birthday song is so random & so what would be what you would do too.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND!!!!!!!!!! brilliant, i really hope that is what New Zealand’s Social Service tag line actually is & they just used it to the extreme it really wouldnt surprise me. I love how they are technically supposed to be the people saving Ricky but you just dont trust them & no they are only in it for there own sake.

Taika had to get himself in the film didnt he. As the worlds weirdest Vicar obviously. Its one of the most awkward funerals ever but its just pure Waititi & that is what he does best.

The family that take Ricky in & look after him are just the best kinda people in the world. They know Ricky is on the run they know him from TV but do they do anything nah. They support him & want him t olive his best life its brilliant. Thats why its so pure that he ends up living with them because they always had his best interests at heart.

Rhys Darby randomly turning up for 5minutes is brilliant. Especially as most of it he is dresses up as a bush & is going mad.

The car chase at the end for a little indi film like this must of been the majority of the budget. Its amazing. IT just keeps getting weirder & bigger & i just love that all of New Zealand were after them at that point after 6months on the run.

Some of the scenic shoots omfg! Thats why i want to run away there one day just wow, looking at all that beauty & colour & its just so beautiful. Thats inspiring enough.

Seriously find this film people & hunt if down if you must. Its just so funny & warm & is exactly what you need as a come down in the evening to make you feel happy.

Taika has nailed it once again.