Boy (2010 film)

Boy
New Zealand theatrical release poster
Directed by	Taika Waititi
Produced by	Cliff Curtis Ainsley Gardiner Emanuel Michael
Written by	Taika Waititi
Starring	See Cast
Music by	The Phoenix Foundation
Cinematography	Adam Clark
Edited by	Chris Plummer
Production company	Whenua Films Unison Films New Zealand Film Production Fund New Zealand Film Commission New Zealand On Air Te Mangai Paho
Distributed by	Transmission Films
Release date	25 March 2010 (2010-03-25)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	New Zealand
Language	English Maori
Box office	$8.6 million

Boy is a 2010 New Zealand coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi. The film stars James Rolleston, Waititi, Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu, Moerangi Tihore, and Cherilee Martin. It is produced by Cliff Curtis, Ainsley Gardiner and Emanuel Michael and financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. In New Zealand, the film eclipsed previous records for a first week's box office takings for a local production.Boy went on to become the highest grossing New Zealand film at the local box office. The soundtrack to Boy features New Zealand artists such as The Phoenix Foundation, who previously provided music for Waititi's film Eagle vs Shark.

The year is 1984. Alamein/"Boy" is an 11-year-old boy who lives in Waihau Bay, in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand, on a small farm with his grandmother, little brother Rocky, and several other cousins. Boy spends his time dreaming of Michael Jackson and his estranged father, Alamein, who has since left him and Rocky. Boy continually creates stories about his father such as him escaping prison and taking him to see Michael Jackson in concert. Even though Boy continues to believe this, his classmates never believe him anyway, which starts a fight between him and another classmate, Kingi, and his older brother Holden. When Boy's grandmother leaves for a funeral one day, she leaves Boy in charge of the house and his brother and cousins; Boy is then surprised to see his father and two other men arrive at the farm.

Boy and the others are happy to see Alamein return, but Rocky is displeased at their father's sudden reappearance. It seems at first that Alamein is here to finally be in his sons' lives but it is soon revealed that he is actually back to find a bag of money he had buried before being arrested by the police. With his patched gang, the 'Crazy Horses' which is just him and two friends, he begins to dig up the money in a nearby field he had buried it at but has trouble remembering the exact spot. Boy sees this and offers to help and Alamein soon decides to hang out with Boy and be a father. The two have fun such as going on drives in Alamein's car and getting revenge on Boy's bully and the bully's brother. Alamein has even convinced Boy (and others) to call him Shogun, instead of Dad. Meanwhile, Alamein has no luck with digging up the money and decides to go in the business of marijuana after he discovers Boy brought some from helping his friends pick. Boy leads his father to the stalks of marijuana who gathers all of it to use and sell. Later, Alamein and his gang go to a local hotel, and get in a confrontation with the real gang who planted the marijuana that Alamein cut down, and are beaten up. Even though this happens, Boy sees his father doing a dance fighting sequence with the others, still seeing the best in him.