Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Cert: 12A. Selected cinemas Much like we Irish, the Kiwis see no problem with having a bit of a titter at themselves and their islander idiosyncrasies. For this reason, audiences here should get a hell of a kick out of this spunky comedy adventure from Taika Waititi (who gave us the top-notch 2014 mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows).

Ricky (Julian Dennison) is a pudgy inner city tearaway who has been in and out of orphanages. He is brought to a rundown farmstead in the wilds of Southern Island New Zealand and slowly settles into life with Bella and Hector (Sam Neill flexing his rarely used comedy muscle). Bella dies suddenly prompting welfare services to review Ricky’s placement, something he is not keen on. He makes a rubbish attempt to go it alone in the bush before Hector finds him. A mishap prevents the two from returning home and a state manhunt ensues when it is believed that Hector has kidnapped the boy. The truth is that, out in the wilderness, the gruff Hector is starting to warm to the soft urban brat. The duo dub themselves the Wilderpeople and set out to evade Rachel House’s mean social worker and the authorities.

A smash hit in its homeland, Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a tidy little jewel of a film that mixes up the bellylaughs and the softcentred charms effortlessly well. Every step of Ricky and Hector’s way reveals wonderful fringe characters, such as the hilarious priest at Bella’s funeral (played by the director himself ) and Flight of the Chonchords regular Rhys Darby as a feral conspiracy nut (“The national rugby team? They’re not human”).