Here's a review of the new film from Kiwi director Taika Waititi (Flight of the Conchords, Eagle Vs. Shark). It broke all sorts of records in its native New Zealand, and very nice it is too. I saw it back at the 2010 Edinburgh Film Festival, but it's showing again on Wednesday as part of the Youth strand of the Glasgow Film Festival.
Nostalgia is pretty low hanging fruit; after all, evoking the past’s warm glow can be as simple as humming the Dogtanian theme-tune or bemoaning the inflated price of Chomps. For New Zealand’s Taika Waititi, childhood nostalgia takes the form of Michael Jackson, Dallas (the name of the title character’s cousin; her sisters are Dynasty and Falcon Crest), Michael Jackson, ice-pops and more Michael Jackson (most winningly evoked in an end-credits haka-Thriller fusion). Luckily, nostalgia isn’t the sole influence driving this sweet, biographical tale of misplaced admiration, puppy love and other coming-of-age staples.
Tone-wise, Son of Rambow is a close cousin, and this comparison is underscored by playful childs-eye-view animated interjections. The film’s greatest asset, however, is the director’s performance as the protagonist’s deadbeat dad. Expertly treading the line between two-dimensional goofball and sad clown, his scenes with eleven year-old Boy (James Rolleston, delivering the film’s other standout performance) are satisfyingly poignant. Beneath its period trappings, Boy’s tale is both broadly amusing and delicately moving.
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