I visited Waihau Bay on a road trip in February 2010. The picture presented in the movie is exactly what I did not shoot with a camera at the time. Extensive pastures, rolling hills, plain houses and simple and friendly locals. And the convenience store with "fish & chips" and Tiptop icecream sign advertising boards outside the door is so similar to the local convenience store I have passed by. In the film, a fat man lives in seclusion under the bridge pier, which is the bridge near the Dairy (convenience store) in the film. That is the bridge where we stopped to rest during the trip. Under the bridge is a wide river, the water level is shallow enough to cover the ankles, and the river bed is covered with pebbles. I still remember that Ashley and I were playing in the river, throwing stones and jumping in a series. The scenes of the movie looked very cordial, as if revisiting the old place.
In 1984, the world was shocked by Mike Jackson's "Thriller". Boy, like other young New Zealanders, regards Mike as an idol, and awkwardly imitates Mike's dancing in front of the girl he likes but is scorned by him. His father's return made him very excited. He regarded his father as a hero and did a lot of things that surprised his friends.
The younger brother Rocky is introverted, likes to draw his own imagination, and believes that he has a special magical power. He often missed his mother, and felt guilty because he suspected that his mother was killed by his own magic. He was at a loss for the return of the father who had never met, and his originally peaceful life was completely disrupted by the man called the father.
This father who was supposed to be squatting in the cell (the actor is the director of the film) somehow escaped and returned home, and brought back two surly bastards/rascals. As soon as I got home, I searched for money everywhere. In order to get more money from his mother, he chose to wait for his mother to return and ask for the money with his two young sons. But his bad behavior is more than that.
Boy, Rocky and his group of cousins abandoned by their biological parents. I pity these children very much, because there are many such children in the New Zealand Maori community in real life. They are either born when their parents are very young (the problem of teenage parents is very serious in this country), or they are parents. Born in a non-marital relationship (in New Zealand, many children do not get married). After the birth, the parents selfishly went on their own careers, or the parents took drugs and got into the cell as an adulterer (there is no death penalty, and when there are not enough prison beds) Some minor offenders will go back to their homes and go to jail, and they will also be approved to go out to work). I have personally contacted several such children. They lacked care and sometimes even the basic daily life is not taken care of. This film largely reflects some of the problems of the Maori community.
The film discusses the theme of "hero" with the appearance of the father and the changes in the lives of the two sons as the main axis. What if the hero you've been waiting for is an egg (what if the hero you've been waiting for is an egg)? The protagonist Boy has experienced expecting his father to return, blindly worshiping his father, being let down by his father, despising his father, resenting his father and finally accepting his father as a faulty bastard. Every child needs a hero in the process of growing up. This hero is often closely related to their dreams. Boy did his best to help his father dig out the treasures that were buried in the ground that year. He imagined that the day he would dig the treasures and the family moved to the city to be wealthy sons and enjoy the beautiful cocktail sports car in the swimming pool. The father likes to smoke marijuana, and the son frequently collects marijuana to please his father. The father likes to drink, and the son also learns to get himself drunk. The father said that he would cut his son's haircut by Mike. The son was very proud, even though his haircut was made fun of by his friends. The father claims to be the leader of the Crazy Horse Gang, and the son is full of respect, and he is willing to be beaten for stealing his father's help. When he dug up the buried handful of banknotes, he thought his dream was within reach. Unexpectedly, he was chewed by his beloved donkey. Without the money, Boy's dream fell through. When my father learned of this, he ruthlessly killed the donkey! Dreams are gone, best friends are gone, what about heroes? At this time, Boy had already doubted his father as a hero, but he still yearned to live with his father. So he led his father to frantically pick marijuana in the corn field. The marijuana collected was swept away by the gangster because of the conflict between the father and the gangster, along with his father's broken car. This time the heroic image of his father completely collapsed, and Boy's faith also collapsed. . . . . .
In the end, it was a happy ending. Grandma returned from the funeral and everyone's life returned to normal. Father? hero? It was just an unforeseen storm, and it was over. It's just that the growing pain, no one can avoid it.
At the end of the film, all the actors performed a Maori dance, the war dance haka performed by men, and the poi performed by women. These are the unique cultural treasures of New Zealand. Also worthy of appreciation is the unique New Zealand accent and New Zealand humor. If I don’t live in New Zealand someday, I will definitely miss everything here. At that time, when I look back at this film, I will burst into tears.
View more about Boy reviews
