Boi E

Now this is a piece of kiwiana! I haven't seen Once Were Warriors, but I'm thinking this is nothing like that. Boy is a coming-of-age story that's a bit different. It's nothing amazing, simply an ordinary tale, about an ordinary kid that goes through something that speaks to all of us. (Can't say my childhood was anything like this, but I can recognise it.)

Boy is living with his family when his father turns up, who is not the best role-model. He loves his father, wants to be like him, but sees the truth of his father in a rather painful way. In some ways this is a rather painful coming-of-age moment, but it's a truthful one.

This movie has a lot of laughs, but there is a moment where the movie turns (the ice block scene), and from then on the laughs are less but the reality is more. The film has the standard 'this film is fictional' etc., but I'm thinking there's a fair bit of autobiography in there.

I doubt this will ever turn up outside New Zealand, but if it does, it's a good catch. And in honour of the Christmas charts:

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