Film Analysis : Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). By Taika Waititi

Film analysis: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). By Taika Waititi

Cast: Sam Neil, Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby, Rachel House, Rima Te Wiata, Oscar Kightley, Cohen Holloway, Stan Walker.

Screenplay: Taika Waititi

Director: Taika Waititi

Movie duration: 1h 41m

Alright everyone, we can now get started on what you are here for.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is different from any other films that I have watched ever. Waititi has explored many different ideas in this film, the major ones being family, betrayal and love. He has used many different techniques, a few of them being: the camera angles, background music and dialogues. It is a film based on a young teenage boy named Ricky Baker, he is raised on hip-hop and neglect. Ricky is sent to live with his new foster parents due to his continuous disobedience. Ricky is considered as “a bad egg” since he is known for “stealing, spitting, running away, throwing rocks, kicking, loitering and graffiti”. He is continuously told by the social services that “no one wants him” and that this is his last chance to set his ways straight or he will be sent to a juvenile home

Hunt for the Wilderpeople uses humour to bring out the judicial system of New Zealand. It hints onto something that is structural and political but with an understanding of New Zealand’s colonial history. The real life political critiques occur in small moments throughout the film such as when Ricky gets the letter concerning his relocation after the death of his foster aunt Bella. The letter informs Ricky and Hec that Ricky will not be allowed to stay with Hec since there is no female present in the house anymore. The political critique is more apparent in the short monologue where Ricky tells Hec why he doesn’t want to go back to foster care. He tells him how his friend died due to be abandonment and neglect by the foster houses and the child services. The way Ricky is treated in the film depicts as a hooligan, a repeat offender, a threat and danger to the society that needs to be caught and restrained is evidence of the implanted racism that is targeted to the Maori men. Despite the fact that Paula, Ricky’s social worker claims that her motto is that “no child should be left behind”, however her treatment towards Ricky does not support her motto as she is always putting Ricky down for being the way he is. There is absolutely no sense of care or responsibility present in the way that she treats Ricky. There is also the way that Paula talks about Ricky, for example “He’s not just a child, he’s a spanner in the works”.

Later in the film, the audience find out that Ricky and Hec are both victims of the system, which claims to bring order, but it is something that the protagonists instead find in the bush. The film reveals how the ‘justice’ systems may have the appearance of order and safety from chaos, but actually enacts violence and separation. The continuous placement for Ricky from one foster house to another is evidence of the injustice of the social services. However, after being sent to live in the country side, that is where he feels more connected to and also where Ricky and Hec reconnect and find the value of family, love and redemption.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople could have been a despairing film, but Waititi’s careful treatment and delivery instead offer alternative ways of seeing. It shows how connection can heal ingrained pain and trauma. The movie is even more admirable when we realise Ricky’s character goes beyond being just an avatar for grief and marginalisation: his salvation represents a quiet dream for a just future.