Hunting For Wilderness

New Zealand's best selling author Barry Crump had written twenty semi-autobiographical and comical books about the life of an 'ordinary bloke' who breaks free from the urban hamster cage and lives in the Bush. One of his most loved books was " Wild pork and Watercress" published in 1986 which portrayed the challenges faced in the Bush along with the friendship between two misfits.The story is set in Uruwera in North Islands.

The cover of Wild Pork and Watercress.

In 2016, Taika Waititi adapted the book into a film called "Hunt for the Wilderpeople". The film stars the child actor Julian Dennison ( Deadpool 2 fame) as the protagonist Ricky Baker , with Sam Neill and Rima Te Wiata as "uncle Hector" and "aunty Bella" respectively.

Film maker Taika Waititi from New Zealand.
Spoilers ahead !!

The film is separated into chapters just like the book. The first chapter is named "The Real Bad Egg" giving the readers a hint of the protagonist's delinquent nature. We then see a car pull up to the Faulkner's house and out steps the child care officer Paula( Rachel House) who forcibly brings out Ricky Baker to introduce him to the family. However, the introduction is rather a long and weary list of accusations she had against the child, including " disobeying, stealing, spitting, running away, throwing rocks, kicking stuff, defacing stuff and graffiti". Bella seemed to be fine with all of that,but Ricky surely wasn't as he went back to the car.

A still from the movie when Paula introduces Ricky to Bella.

However, Ricky had to let go and reluctantly started living with his new family. Bella was ecstatic,but the same couldn't have been said for her husband and Ricky himself. The love and warmth Ricky got from Bella was something he never got from his other foster families, thus making room in his heart for his new family.

On Ricky's eleventh birthday, Bella had sung for him a rather interesting birthday song about how he was once rejected but now accepted. The couple even gifted him a dog who he named Tupac , keeping in mind his love for hip-hop.

Ricky's eleventh birthday.

Tragedy struck when Bella died suddenly . The little family was devastated and began falling apart as Bella was the one gluing them together. After returning from the funeral with Bella's ashes, Ricky decided to go to the highest mountain and throw his aunty's ashes in the air, making her one with nature as that is what she had wanted.

Bella's funeral.

Hector, afraid for the boy's safety ,follows him to the mountain. Soon he injures his leg and that was followed by a series of unfortunate events. Zag the farm dog who accompanied them on the journey was mauled by a wild boar, the duo are chased by the cops,they chance upon hunters in the Bush who accuse Hector of pedophilia, but despite all this, they don't not lose hope. They raid caravans for food and supplies and discover an eccentric Bushman who offers them his car as means to escape and a couple of stale cookies. Also in between the chaos , Ricky ends up meeting a beautiful girl on horseback who offers them help .

Kahu, the girl who helped Ricky and whose family later fosters him.

After a wild goose chase, Paula does manage to get hold of the runaway Ricky and Hector. When Hector surrenders to the police, Ricky calls him a traitor and shoots him in the butt(which was a mistake) .Later he goes to him in the correctional home to visit and apologize to him.

Ricky with Hector in the correctional home.

The film beautifully brings out the budding relationship between a rebellious kid fond of composing haikus and a sour old man who was illiterate.

In the initial stages of their relationship, Bella was the chord that kept them together,but when the chord snapped they got closer. Even while hurling obscenities at each other like when hurt with Hector's betrayal , Ricky called him a "molesteror" and when he apologizes , Hector yells "I'm not your bloody uncle" ! -the bond between the duo cannot be helped but noticed. They evidently do care for each other and there's no better example that the last scene where Ricky comes to visit Hector in the correctional home and formerly illiterate old man makes up a haiku for him as the child had often done for him.