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Poster for Boy

Boy

Summer, Girls, Gangs, Drugs ... its not easy being eleven.

2010 · 1h 27m · NOT RATED Comedy, Drama
Directed by Taika Waititi

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Overview

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.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
86%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Even the inevitable flaws of the low-budget production are winning, showcasing as they do the narrative artistry that makes Boy so distinctive amid current factory-written studio productions.

John Barber, Globe and Mail
Fresh

A simple story of coming of age and the bitter failings of hero worship that succeeds thanks to the impressive skills of its young star.

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
Fresh

"Boy" finds hope, and love, in the oddest corners.

Tom Long, Detroit News
Fresh

Waititi has reached into his past for a story that belongs to him alone.

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Fresh

A film like this would have little chance without the right casting, and James Rolleston is so right as Boy, it's difficult to imagine anyone else.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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