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

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Boy
Te Aho Eketone-Whitu ...
...
Moerangi Tihore ...
Cherilee Martin ...
RickyLee Waipuka-Russell ...
Chardonnay (as Rickylee Waipuka-Russell)
Haze Reweti ...
Maakariini Butler ...
Rajvinder Eria ...
Manihera Rangiuaia ...
Darcy Ray Flavell-Hudson ...
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Waihoroi Shortland ...
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...

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Storyline

It's 1984. Here we meet Boy, an 11-year-old who lives on a farm with his gran, a goat, and his younger brother, Rocky (who thinks he has magic powers). Shortly after Gran leaves for a week, Boy's father, Alamein, appears out of the blue. Having imagined a heroic version of his father during his absence, Boy comes face to face with the real version-an incompetent hoodlum who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years before. This is where the goat enters. Written by Sundance Film Festival

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Comedy | Drama

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Release Date:

25 March 2010 (New Zealand)  »

Also Known As:

Мальчик  »

Filming Locations:

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Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$15,569 (USA) (23 March 2012)

Gross:

$255,179 (USA) (22 June 2012)
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1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Boy was born in 1973. See more »

Goofs

In the opening scene it shows a wrecking yard of cars, noticeable one of the cars is a white 1991 Ford Falcon EA station wagon, not available in 1984. See more »

Quotes

Dynasty: She reckons it's better to be risk your money on something big and be real poor, than sit around being a bit poor.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The credits start with the names and roles of the three main actors and this is followed by a spoof of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", incorporating elements of the original dance (as seen on the music video) and Maori Hakas. See more »

Connections

References TRON (1982) See more »

Soundtracks

Karu
(Traditional)
Performed by Prince Tui Teka
Courtesy of Ode Records
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User Reviews

 
delightful light-hearted sweetness
16 August 2010 | by (Australia) – See all my reviews

Boy is a simple but emotionally powerful story about growing up, relationships, following your head over your heart and drawing the line between right and wrong. It's easily one of the best New Zealand films ever made. It's Rich characters and humorous dialogue, entailed by the occasional light-hearted hand drawn animations delivered a hugely entertaining blend of culture, comedy and drama.

The story started on a perfect note with Boy played by James Rolleston giving his show and tell speech in the classroom. It introduced the character, his background and set the atmosphere, mood and setting all in one go without being a dull lead up. Taika Waititi (who also plays the dead beat father) did an amazing job in setting out each detailed scene with the occasional Michael Jackson tributes giving the film an even disperse of light-hearted laughs at the same time appropriately moving the plot along.

The film gave a heart aching recount on every boy's natural instinct to worship their father, whether they deserve it or not. The growth and resilience of each character portrayed superbly by every single actor from the child stars to the minor adult characters was a pleasure to watch. It still brings a smile to my face today. Pure brilliance...

http://musingsandmorsels.weebly.com/film.html


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