7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's 1984, and Michael Jackson is king-even in Waihau Bay, New Zealand. 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
Starring: James Rolleston, Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu, Taika Waititi, Rachel House, Craig HallDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
There are two coming of age stories in Boy. The first is the emotional development of the titular main character—an eleven-year-old Maori growing up in rural New Zealand in the mid 1980s—and the second is the maturation of Taika Waititi, the film's writer, director, and co-star. Waititi first gained attention when he faked falling asleep at the 2005 Oscars while the nominations for Best Live Action Short Film were being read—his short, Two Cars, One Night was among them—and he parlayed this same sense of juvenile humor into stints writing and directing episodes of Flight of the Conchords. His debut feature, 2007's Eagle vs. Shark took on a similar vibe to the now-cult classic HBO series—it's a geeky rom-com that stars The Conchords' Jemaine Clement—and while it has moments of heart and absurdist comedy, its too-twee weirdness also attracts negative comparisons to Napoleon Dynamite. In Boy, though, Waititi has finally found a way to combine his off-kilter sense of humor and visual peculiarities with a story that's insightful and affecting too. It's a fun, crowd-pleasing film, and since its release in 2010 it's become New Zealand's highest grossing movie ever, even beating out higher profile titles like Whale Rider and The Fastest Indian.
Who Am I?
It's taken a long time for Boy to make its way to the U.S.—it came out in New Zealand in 2010—but Kino-Lorber's Blu-ray is worth the wait, with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's clean and natural-looking. Minus a few errant specks and some noise in the shadows, there are no issues whatsoever with the 35mm print or its digital presentation. Film grain is visible but unobtrusive, untouched by DNR, and the picture is free of edge enhancement or any other types of obvious filtering. As usual, Kino's approach is very hands-off here, and while that can occasionally be a bad thing for some of their older titles—which could use a little digital restoration and polish—it's the ideal tact for a relatively new film like Boy. Although there is some softness here and there, clarity in general is excellent, with fine texture and detail easily visible in closeups. Likewise, color isn't quite as vibrant as many other recent films, but the very neutral film stock and low-key grading give Boy a realistic, beachy feel that's perfect for the movie's tone and setting. You get the sense that Boy looks exactly as intended here.
Kino has given us two audio options, a 5.1 surround mix and a 2.0 stereo track, both in the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio codec. Both get the job done, but the 5.1 presentation is clearly the go-to choice if you have a capable home theater system. This isn't an action or effects-heavy film by any means, but the sound design does make frequent use of the rear channels for scene-setting ambience, from lapping water and distant thunder to party noise and insect sounds. The film also makes great use of music, with a poignant score by New Zealand indie band The Phoenix Foundation—who also scored Eagle vs. Shark—and some perfect choices for incidental cues, like Musical Youth's 1982 reggae hit, "Pass the Dutchie." Obviously, as a low- budget film, Boy couldn't afford the rights to any of the Michael Jackson songs and videos that it parodies but the stand-in music evokes the era just as well. The mix is balanced well, with consistent clarity and a good sense of presence, and dialogue is always clean and easy to understand. The lone shortcoming here is that there are no subtitles on the disc, which might've helped in deciphering some of the more inscrutable New Zealand slang.
Boy took forever paddling its way to the U.S.—it came out in New Zealand in 2010—but it's finally here on Blu-ray, courtesy of Kino-Lorber, and it's easily one of my top picks for this month. This is a movie that's funny and affecting in equal measure—at times, it reminded me of Kikujiro, the great 1999 family comedy/drama from Beat Takeshi—and it shows tremendous growth in director Taika Waititi's powers as a storyteller and filmmaker. The disc also includes Waititi's excellent Academy Award-nominated short, Two Cars, One Night. Highly recommended!
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