Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016)

A thirteen-year-old delinquent from the city is placed with a middle-aged foster couple in the remote countryside where, after an initial urge to escape, he starts to become acclimatised to his new surroundings. But when his foster mother dies abruptly and social services are on their way to get him back into the system, he takes flight once more and is reluctantly followed by his woodsman foster father, a cantankerous woodsman. A nationwide manhunt for the pair is launched and their mutual antipathy is duly worn away over the course of their trials and tribulations.
The basic plot outline could easily go the way of mawkishness and the familiar trails of buddy movies. It's completely saved from either by excellent chemistry between Sam Neill as the grizzled substitute father and Julian Dennison as the boy, sparkling humour and the playful, knowing interposition of a plethora of filmic references amongst moments of genuine pathos. It really makes the most of all its ingredients, and although it loses focus for a moment when the chase comes to a climax, the abiding impression it leaves is feelgood in the best sense of the word.

7/10