Hunt for the Wilderpeople

 Dir. Taika Waititi | New Zealand | 141 mins | cert 12A

From Taika Waititi - director of cult vampire comedy What We Do In the Shadows - comes the utterly hilarious Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which screened to acclaim at Sundance and set box office records in Waititi's native New Zealand.

Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) is a defiant, trash-talking misfit sent by child services to start a new life in rural New Zealand with a foster family: aunt Bella, gruff uncle Hec (Sam Neill) and dog Tupac. But when events threaten his return, Ricky runs into the bush with Hec in pursuit. With the two of them missing, a national manhunt is begun - forcing Ricky and Hec to embark on a months-long trek, and to overcome their differences to get by.

Based on the book 'Wild Pork and Watercress' by Barry Crump, and with charismatic, pitch-perfect performances from Dennison and Neill, Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a visually inventive, pleasingly bittersweet and effortlessly funny film - full of Waititi's distinctive comedy.