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Boy

Boy

Drama · Comedy · 2010

Boy, an 11-year-old child and devout Michael Jackson fan who lives on the east coast of New Zealand in 1984, gets a chance to know his absentee criminal father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.

Movie details

Boy

“Welcome to my interesting world.”

2010 Drama · Comedy 1h 28m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

Boy, an 11-year-old child and devout Michael Jackson fan who lives on the east coast of New Zealand in 1984, gets a chance to know his absentee criminal father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Boy?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Ezra

Ezra

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Stand-up comedian Max Bernal lives with his father Stan while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra with his ex-wife. When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son's future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.

The Judge

The Judge

Drama · 2014

A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.

People Like Us

People Like Us

Drama · 2012

After flying home to L.A. for the funeral of his estranged record-producer father, a struggling man discovers that the will stipulates that he must deliver $150,000 in cash to a 30-year-old alcoholic sister he never knew existed, and her troubled 12-year-old son.

The Descendants

The Descendants

Comedy · 2011

With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

Hard Truths

Hard Truths

Drama · 2024

Pansy is a woman so full of rage that every interaction she has devolves into lashing out, whether at her utterly cowed husband and son, or random strangers who have the temerity to address her. In contrast, her younger sister Chantelle lives with her two vivacious daughters and plies a successful trade as a hairdresser, putting clients at their ease all day long. Yet beneath Pansy’s abrasive exterior are hints of a more fragile psyche, one motivated by fear and damaged by repressed pain.

Walkabout

Walkabout

Adventure · 1971

Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They are saved by a chance encounter with an Aboriginal boy who shows them how to survive, and in the process underscores the disharmony between nature and modern life.

Rams

Rams

Drama · 2020

In remote Western Australia, two estranged farmer brothers, Colin and Les, are at war. But when Les' prize ram is diagnosed with a rare and lethal illness, authorities order a purge of every sheep in the valley—so the brothers must work together to reunite their family, save their herd, and bring their community back together.

The Happiest Millionaire

The Happiest Millionaire

Comedy · 1967

A happy and unbelievably lucky young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Biddle. His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, tires of the unusual antics of her father--especially since the nice young men around town all fear him. Wouldn't you fear a father-in-law that keeps alligators for pets and teaches boxing at his daily Bible classes?

In My Father's Den

In My Father's Den

Drama · 2004

War journalist Paul Prior returns to his New Zealand hometown after his father’s death, rekindling strained relationships with his brother and memories of a troubled past. He befriends Celia, a curious and aspiring writer, who shares a fascination with his world. When Celia mysteriously disappears, Paul becomes the prime suspect, forcing him to confront buried secrets and uncover the dark truths of his family and community.

Burn Your Maps

Burn Your Maps

Adventure · 2016

A family in emotional turmoil is taken by surprise in this quirky adventure where an eccentric 8-year-old American boy, Wes, has an existential epiphany - He believes that he is in fact a Mongolian goat herder.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Taika Waititi

Written by

Taika Waititi

James Rolleston

James Rolleston

Boy

T

Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu

Rocky

Taika Waititi

Taika Waititi

Alamein

M

Moerangi Tihore

Dynasty

C

Cherilee Martin

Kelly

RickyLee Waipuka-Russell

RickyLee Waipuka-Russell

Chardonnay

H

Haze Reweti

Dallas

Court is in session

Put Boy on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.