BEFORE: As long as I'm in New Zealand, I figure I'd better take advantage and squeeze this one in. This film only JUST made it to Netflix a couple of weeks ago, and common wisdom says it should be there for two years, so I should probably watch other movies that are likely to leave the service first. BUT, this one's a double-link, with both Taika Waititi AND Rhys Darby carrying over from "What We Do in the Shadows". (Actually I think it's a triple, see below.). And who knows when I'll be watching another film with Rhys Darby, or Sam Neill, for that matter? So I'd better work this one in now.
It's funny, I forgot that my 2020 Movie Year started with a New Zealand-based film, "Whale Rider", and now I've circled back there unintentionally. I guess in some ways the first film of the year can really set the tone for what's to come, that's why I'm so obsessive about selecting my starting point each year.
But today's movie is what made me tear up the path I had to the end of the year and re-think it, once I knew for sure that "Black Widow" and "Hellboy" couldn't be part of the mix this year. Instead of planning a Christmas movie that I wasn't really into, re-thinking the final 12 films for the year allowed me to work in three other Christmas films that I think I'll like better, plus a documentary on my (former) favorite band. It's really only four out of the twelve films that I changed, but I think it makes a world of difference if I'm happier about the line-up. As long as I'm in charge of the linking (and the linking's not in charge of me) why not pick the films that I think I'll enjoy better? Sometimes it's just that simple.
Oh, and I found a path from January 15 to February 1 - actually, I found TWO paths, which makes things easier, but also harder in a way. I know for sure now that my 2021 linking will be solid until mid-March (and really, that's the first few steps of a potential yearlong chain already sorted) BUT now I have to decide between the two paths, which both get me to the same place in the end. Again, it may be a matter of just figuring out which one's likely to make me happier.
And my links for November are: Taika Waititi (again), Scarlett Johansson, Leonardo Nam and Nate Mooney.
THE PLOT: A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.
AFTER: Well, it seems that New Zealand culture is very different from ours - I'm slowly starting to understand their sense of humor, thanks to comedy ambassadors like Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi - I never watched "The Flight of the Conchords" but Clement turned up in the "Men in Black" series and Marvel's "Legion" show on FX, and I got to know Waititi through his voice-work as Korg in (and his direction of) "Thor: Ragnarok", which was easily the funniest Marvel superhero movie to date (with "Guardians of the Galaxy" a close second). Now he's also providing the voice for the bounty hunter droid IG-11 in "The Mandalorian", season 2 started on Disney Plus just a couple days ago.
But maybe we're not all that different from New Zealanders, don't we have a bunch of people in the U.S. who love to hunt and pride themselves on being able to survive out in the wild, while avoiding all possible influence from the government? Doomsday preppers, or radical militiamen, whatever you want to call them, I have a feeling that come this Tuesday, they'll all be either headed into the woods to go native for four years, or else they'll be strapping on their ammo belts and headed in to the big city to defend our country from Mexicans or liberals or just any minorities they can find. Either way, it should make for an interesting week. Just like "The Munsters", the Civil War is a franchise that I don't think needs another installment. I'd love to see a peaceful election and a fair turnover, but I'm braced for Civil War II: Red vs. Blue.
But I may be able to get a couple more films watched before the country burns to the ground. This one and "Jojo Rabbit", at least. Today's film is about abandoned boy sent to live with foster parents, which echoes back to "The House with a Clock in its Walls" from last week. Almost 13-year old Ricky Baker is in trouble for everything from burning things to loitering and graffiti, so a child welfare officer sends him off to a farm to be raised by Bella Faulkner and her husband, Hec. Hec's a lot older, so he and Ricky don't exactly see eye to eye, it's really Bella's generosity and spirit holding the "trifecta" together. They each teach Ricky how to hunt, and it's quite amazing for Ricky to see Bella take down a wild boar.
But when Bella dies suddenly, child welfare wants to take Ricky back to juvie and his "foster uncle" Hec says he's going to go live in the bush for a while, Ricky beats him to the punch and heads out to the wild first, with his canine companion, Tupac, and a backpack full of peanut butter sandwiches. He quickly loses his way in the jungle, but Hec manages to find him and they bond as an odd pair to survive outside of conventional society. After a few months there's a nationwide search and a reward for their return, which seems like a lot of trouble for child services to go through just to find ONE teen. In America they used to just put missing kids' photos on milk cartons, but it's unclear if any missing persons were ever found by the efforts of habitual milk drinkers.
There seem to be a bunch of randomly placed hunting cabins across New Zealand, and none of them seem to be locked. Hec and Ricky raid them for food when their hunting skills fail, but confusion comes about when Ricky says something to a group of hunters that accidentally sounds like his foster uncle has been molesting him. Ah, there's that wacky New Zealand sense of humor again. The two spend months out in the wilderness, and then a week with a recluse named Psycho Sam before the authorities manage to track them down.
It's a simple enough story, but it's got some genuine heart - this was a festival favorite back during the 2016-2017 season. The message is that everybody needs other people, and at some point in life, your family consists of the people who you've chosen to spend time with, rather than the people you share DNA with. Also, it's probably a good idea to bring a warm coat.
Also starring Sam Neill (last seen in "The Commuter"), Julian Dennison (last seen in "Deadpool 2"), Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House (last seen in "Whale Rider"), Oscar Kightley (last heard in "Moana"), Stan Walker, Mike Minogue (also carrying over from "What We Do in the Shadows"), Cohen Holloway (ditto), Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Troy Kingi, Hamish Parkinson, Stu Giles.
RATING: 6 out of 10 improvised haikus
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