Boy (2010)

Set on the east coast of New Zealand in 1984, Boy, an 11-year-old child and devout Michael Jackson fan, gets a chance to know his absentee criminal father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.

Director:

Taika Waititi

Writer:

Taika Waititi

Stars:

James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu, Taika Waititi

13 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Rolleston	...	Boy
Te Aho Eketone-Whitu	...	Rocky
Taika Waititi	...	Alamein
Moerangi Tihore	...	Dynasty
Cherilee Martin	...	Kelly
RickyLee Waipuka-Russell	...	Chardonnay (as Rickylee Waipuka-Russell)
Haze Reweti	...	Dallas
Maakariini Butler	...	Murray
Rajvinder Eria	...	Tane
Manihera Rangiuaia	...	Kingi
Darcy Ray Flavell-Hudson	...	Holden
Rachel House	...	Aunty Gracey
Waihoroi Shortland	...	Weirdo
Cohen Holloway	...	Chuppa
Pana Hema Taylor	...	Juju

Storyline

It's 1984. Here we meet Boy, an 11-year-old who lives on a farm with his gran, a goat, and his younger brother, Rocky (who thinks he has magic powers). Shortly after Gran leaves for a week, Boy's father, Alamein, appears out of the blue. Having imagined a heroic version of his father during his absence, Boy comes face to face with the real version-an incompetent hoodlum who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years before. This is where the goat enters.

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Plot Keywords:

crush | beach | party | coming of age | goat | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to the films success in New Zealand, the song "Poi E", originally released in 1984, re-entered the New Zealand charts and reached number 3 on May 24 2010. It is the only New Zealand song to chart over three decades.

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Goofs

In the opening scene there is a decrepit old truck with a bent old license plate "ME1831" License plates in NZ are released alphabetically starting with AA and culminating with ZZ before the system switched to the a three letter three number system. "M" license plates were first seen in about 1985 - a year after this film was set. A truck that old in 1985 would have had and A,B,C or D license plate.

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Quotes

Teacher: Now, who knows what disease this sheep has?
Kingi: AIDS?
Teacher: Not AIDS, you dork!

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Crazy Credits

The credits start with the names and roles of the three main actors and this is followed by a spoof of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", incorporating elements of the original dance (as seen on the music video) and Maori Hakas.

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Connections

References The A-Team (1983)

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Soundtracks

Aku Raukura (Disco Mix)
Written by Dalvanius Prime (as M Prime) and Ngoi Pewhairangi (as N Pewhairangi)
Control
Performed by Patea Maori Club
Courtesy of Jayrem Records

User Reviews

Perfect! Take note Hollywood

Beautiful, funny at times, never maudlin, coming of age for the children and adults in the film. Shot in a small town that is genuinely the town that the author/actor (father) actually grew up in. He spoke after our screening, and it was a 30 kid school house, which it still is. Actually the film is a huge success in NZ and the little community gets a small percentage of the gross, so the community is benefiting from this film.

The film captures a time and place in history and culture. It is slow and yet the story develops and covers a lot of ground. What I especially loved is that the camera doesn't jump around like Hollywood movies, changing every 5 seconds. It stays with the character.

Put on your list!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English Maori

Release Date:

25 March 2010 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

Boy

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,244, 4 March 2012

Gross USA:

$256,211

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,551,154

Company Credits

Production Co:

Whenua Films, Unison Films, New Zealand Film Production Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (fantasy sequence)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1