Film: Boy

If I'm looking a little teary-eyed today, put it down to nostalgia.

I enjoyed a preview of the film "Boy", which is an immediate kiwi classic for it's constant references to popsicles if for nothing else. (Seriously, popsicles were the awesome 50c dairy treat of all of our childhood...).

Apparently it's a smash hit in New Zealand, which didn't surprise me much seeing New Zealand typically produces one mainstream film per year, if that. Not a lot of competition going on. But the bright side of that is that when they do make a big movie they can capture plenty of raw, untapped and genuine talent. So Boy is actually good, well-written and meaningful viewing. There's drama, humour, sex, violence, innocence, family dynamics and basically anything else you could look for in a film. There's even a taste of glamour and wealth thanks to the very active imagination of our protagonist.

This film is a true kiwi film from A to Z. My very Aussie friend, Amanda, admitted that it wasn't until at least halfway through before she finally realised they were calling each other "eggs" because the accent was a little hard to understand. I had no problem with the accent, but when I first heard "egg" it was a moment before the word registered for me. And then it came flooding back - egg!! You're such an egg. And that word conveyed such meaning. That's what we used to say, before we learnt the F-word or other dirty words, or at least before we had the guts to use them. So this film absolutely hit home with me in a silly way. And it was fun - if for nothing else, the Maori version of Thriller performed during the closing credits makes this movie absolutely worth watching.

My only concern with this film is the perception it creates on the world stage. Yes, the film is funny and very realistic. But it's funny because we relate to it as the way our society was, not the way it is now. I would hate for anybody to believe that we haven't made progress in the past 25 years in terms of domestic violence, caring for children, and general quality of life. This is almost an in-joke. It's the life that we all relate to on some level, but it's not a modern depiction of New Zealand today. That's not to say the modern NZ is a sugar-coated paradise, but it's advanced further both for the good and for the bad. The issues we face now are deeper and more serious. Likewise, the good has increased, there have been improvements in many areas. That may seem ridiculously obvious, but my interactions with people from across the world consistently tell me that their exposure to us is minimal, and therefore they do take whatever they see rather seriously. So let's hope they see this for what it is - a clever indie classic, not a picture of the life of every Kiwi kid.

When: 18th August, 2010

Where: Event Cinemas, George St

Verdict: Entertaining.

Thanks to SeeFilmFirst for the free tickets!