OH Boy!

I heard very little about this before it was released and it came as a great swell of surprise when I saw it. Make or break for me is identification with characters - whether or not you are willing to take the journey of the film with them. The opening of this trailer will give you an idea how easy it is to go anywhere with this 'Boy'.

James Rolleston was a late starter for the part. He turned up at a wardrobe call for extras and won the role after a series of auditions. During the long preproduction rewrites, the original Boy had grown into adolescence and out of contention for the role. Spare a thought for this mystery 'Boy' who must occasionally think of the 'Might have Beens' as he watches the stellar trajectory of the film. Spare another for the girl Judy Davis replaced as the lead in 'My Brilliant Career' all those years ago, whose name (surprise, surprise) escapes me.

Taika Waititi plays the father and his wonderful performance is made more stunning when you realise he is the director and writer and just about everything else. Along the path to production, he took his script to Sundance and worked and reworked his ideas until the film arrived at its current state as highest grossing New Zealand film of all time. The last high grossing New Zealand film was the 'World's Fastest Indian' with famous expat NZ director Roger Donaldson and Anthony Hopkins. To measure Waititi's accomplishment it is worth considering that there is not one familiar face in this production.

Once were warriors, now are gentler 'Boy's and oh my God, years of hard work.

Click here to see the trailer of 'BOY':