BOY Initial Response

Brief plot overview

Boy is a film directed and written by Taika Waititi. Boy is an 11 year old kid who lives in a small boring town. His life is shaken up however when he gets the news that his dad (whom he hasn’t seen since his mum died) decides to come back to the town and take care of him, his brother and cousins while his nan leaves for a business trip. Though a lot of drama is brought along as boy realises his dad isn’t half the man whom he thought to be.

Discuss a character that you found interesting and describe why they stood out to you.

Rocky was Boy’s younger brother. Rocky is a stand out character for me. Rocky and Boy’s mother died giving birth to him. For this reason Rocky thought he might have been given super powers by a god or something like that for having to take the life of his mother. I find Rocky an interesting character because he’s seems very quiet and sad, but when his dad had been ditched by his gang and was feeling down, Rocky came and helped him feel better. This shows me Rocky wasn’t just same quiet kid who thought he had super powers, he also had a big heart and wasn’t afraid to help someone in need. We see this affect again when Boy goes out to find leaf who’d been hit by a car and be with him. Rocky came along and supported his big brother in his grief. Rocky seems like a really good person to have around in times of sadness and that’s why I liked his character in the movie, I also think a lot of other people would say the same.

Write about a scene that stood out to you. Why was it of interest?

I found the scene where we see boy running out of the cornfields with his dad and Rocky with the marijuana plants interesting. Boy was running through and you see him obviously catch a glimpse at something because he stop and turns around to go back. It reveals one of boys best friends is standing there watching him. Boy even though he knows he’s doing something wrong, doesn’t just bolt away. Instead he goes back to look at his friend. I think he did this because he felt bad and wanted to apologies to his friend, but when he went back and looked her in the eye, he couldn’t do it. Guilt is a strange feeling, and I think thats the reason he couldn’t say anything when he looked at her. He knew he was doing something that was going to get him in trouble but the other-side of him just wanted to keep hanging out with his dad.

What message do you think the director, Taika Waititi, was covering in the text. Use an example to support your explanation.

I think Taika Waititi was trying to express the message think before acting throughout this text. During the text many of the characters make irrational decisions without thinking about consequences. For example, Sho Gun wakes up to see his two friends stealing his stash and car. Without thinking he goes up to them and confronts them about it. If he had stopped to think about what could happen, then he would’ve realised that two of them are going to beat one of him. Another example is when Boy goes to the dairy and uses the buried treasure he’d found to pay for ice blocks for all his friends. If he’d stopped to think about what hew was doing, he may have realised how suspicious it is that all of a sudden he has all this money. Because he didn’t the scene results in his dad attacking him and questioning him about the money he had to buy the ice blocks. Embarrassing him in front of all his friends. I think this point the director Taika Waititi is expressing in this film is intended. This is because it is a fact the human speices tend to make a lot of irrational decisions without thought of what could happen after. Taika Waititi knows this and I think he is hoping everyone who watches this movie will learn of his characters mistakes and start to think more about decisions they make.

Write about a cinematography technique that was of interest to you. Why was it effective/surprising/distracting…

I think the director Taika Waititi used the environment of Waihau Bay really well in his movie. What I mean by this is during the movie, the director uses shots of the environment to show scene change or time passing. What he also expressing during these scenes is the layout of the area. To paint an even better picture of the location this movie is taking place he takes a variety of different shots of the landscape to show whats around. An example of this in one of the scenes as time is passing it shows a wide shot of an old shack sitting in some long grass looking out towards the ocean. I think Taika Waititi used this effect to paint a better picture of the area his film is taking place. So it can help us understand more what environment the characters are living in. I think this is a great effect to use in movies and I will probably try to use it in my films also.

Give your reflections on the setting. Why do you think it was set in Waihau Bay in 1984? Write about how the director showcases the setting.

I think the reason Taika Waititi used this setting was because of it’s natural looking landscape. There was no big buildings or anything fancy like that, giving the film a very rural feel. Waihau Bay also contains a lot of tussocks on the beaches and big paddocks of green grass that makes the film look even more like it’s based in New Zealand. I think it’s cool how Taika Waititi used a random town in the middle of no where, and managed to express so much of New Zealand in his film. From the plants, to the township, to the characters. He made it so they all worked together to give of that classic New Zealand vibe. I think this is why a lot of New Zealanders love this movie, because it’s recognisable and people relate to it. It also give people around the world a taste for what New Zealand is like.