Boy, an 11-year-old child and devout Michael Jackson fan who lives on the east coast of New Zealand in 1984, gets a chance to know his absentee criminal father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.
Direction
Waititi's debut proves he was always this weird and tender.
Acting
James Rolleston's breakout — pure, unfiltered kid chaos.
Writing
Michael Jackson fantasies as coping mechanism? Devastating genius.
Director
Taika Waititi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Waititi cast James Rolleston after he showed up to audition for a different kid's role — he'd never acted before. The goat's name is actually Leaf.
The film's use of te reo Māori and rural East Coast setting was groundbreaking for NZ cinema — it became the highest-grossing local film at the time, beating even Lord of the Rings per-capita in some regions.
NZ
