• Home
  • About
  • Links
  • Calendar

Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World

Libertarian Movies, Films & Documentaries

  • News
  • Film
  • Documentary
  • Shorts
  • Blog
  • Top Picks
    • Movies & Films: The Top 25
    • Documentaries: The Top 25
    • Music Videos: The Top 10
    • Films for Students: Top Ten
  • Netflix

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Tagged: Abuse of power, Individualism

A run-away orphan is pursued in a nationwide manhunt by Child Services. [ Hunt for the Wilderpeople credits: Dir: Taika Waititi/ Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House / 101 min/ Comedy, Adventure/ Individualism, Abuse of power]

As the film opens, an orphan boy is just being delivered to his quirky new foster family — a down-to-earth couple eking out a crude existence deep in the rugged New Zealand countryside. It seems they are the only ones who will take him; it’s his last chance at having a real home.

Happily, he gradually bonds with his new family, but in an unexpected turn of events the State suddenly wants him back. That may mean ending up in years of detention, as a past series of minor infractions have made him ineligible for further chances at foster care. So, he makes a run for it into the “bush,” New Zealand’s uninhabited and inhospitable outback. Authorities react with a nationwide manhunt of wildly disproportionate character.

All that sounds serious — and indeed there are moments of drama and tragedy (this is not a film for little kids) — but for the most part the telling is decidedly comic. Part of the humor here is that his past misdemeanors are treated with absurd weight by authorities, which gives the film a subtle libertarian undercurrent throughout. Ordinary people are reasonable, caring, and sympathetic to this boy who says he just wants to be free; the State, ever-eager to use its powers of force, is not.

It’s easy to see why this movie has been such a hit. In the generously-filmed lush New Zealand wilderness, amidst these quirky characters, you feel at times transported to a different place. The script is well-written, and many of the performances are outstanding.

My favorite character is the Child Services agent, played by Rachel House. She is the embodiment of authoritarianism. You get the gist of her personality in an early scene. As she begins the hunt for the orphan boy, she reaches down and wipes with her hand the soil on the ground where he has recently been, smells it as though to follow his scent, and says with malevolence and determination the words “Where are you Ricky Baker?”

But the spell of her self-importance is broken when a more easy-going policeman standing next to her comments dryly “You can’t really follow people by their smell,” and the audience erupts in laughter. That in a nutshell is Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

External Reviews

“[It’s] is a delightfully bone-dry comedy from Taika Waititi and Sam Neill, celebrating Kiwi libertarianism.”
—Den of Geek

“Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a hoot with heart.”
—Detroit News

“A lop-sided gem with real emotion.”
—Newsday

“It may even be the most libertarian film New Zealand has produced.”
—The New Zealand Initiative

How to See It

Netflix  
Amazon (DVD)   
Amazon (Instant Video)
YouTube Video Search
Google Video Search

Links

Official homepage
IMDB
Wikipedia
Facebook
Google
More Films About: Individualism
More Films About: Abuse of Power

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

  • RSS
  • Twitter

Featured Films

how jack became black

2018 Libertarian Films: Year in Review

In 2018, ten new libertarian films (six narrative films and four documentaries) were identified and are listed below. It’s noteworthy that many of these films were made on a shoestring budget and clawed their way up through sheer merit -- the declining cost of film technology combined with online distribution … Continue Reading

Themes

Abuse of power American revolution Anti-draft Anti-regulation Anti-slavery Anti-socialism Anti-taxation Anti-war Ayn Rand Corrupt government Creator as hero Democide Econ 101 Eminent domain Equality & law Escape from socialism Freedom of speech Free press as hero Government as bigot Government as torturer Government enforced morality Government healthcare Government schools Incompetent government Individualism John Stossel Law & liberty Legalize Drugs Libertarian heroes Libertarianism 101 Power corrupts Power worship Pro-capitalism Pro-immigration Propaganda Psychiatric coercion Resistance to tyranny Right to secede Search & seizure Second amendment Sexual liberty Social tolerance Unions & monopolies Voluntarism Working for government

Genres/Categories

Action-Adventure Animated Biography Blog Comedy Documentary Drama Family Featured Film Foreign History Horror Music-Dance Netflix News Romance SciFi-Fantasy Shorts Thriller Western

About Miss Liberty

This site is a collection of films and documentaries of particular interest to libertarians (and those interested in libertarianism). It began as a book, Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium, where many of the recommended films were first reviewed. The current collection has grown to now more than double the number in that original list, and it’s growing still.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

© 2019 Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World. All Rights Reserved

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.