Hunt for the Wilderpeople, by Taika Waititi, features relationships, trust, abandonment, family and more. An example of that is an important relationship between Uncle Hector and Ricky Baker. “Relationships can fall apart when trust is broken, but can be shaped into something stronger." Is shown here. An abandoned kid finding a family who cares for him but then being threatened to lose that family, is what started everything.
During the start of the movie, it is shown that Ricky Baker and Uncle Hector were far from close, but as the movie progresses towards the middle they are seen getting closer to each other. Progressing towards the end the closeness between them quickly distanced out. Fortunately at the end they became closer quicker, and a stronger bond this time.
In the first scene, where Ricky is introduced to Hector and Bella, his new foster parents the camera focus was Ranged and distanced, commonly showing one character per time. The lighting was dark and didn’t seem welcoming despite Bella’s attempts. When Hector was brought into the picture he was rude and spoke little words. It was obvious they weren’t close and far off it at that. When the shots showed one character at a time it seemed they were mad, lonely and/or upset. The dark lights backed that feeling up more.
Moving into the Middle we saw Hector grieving over his passing wife, Ricky not wanting to return to foster care and then running away, when Hector went looking for Ricky the hunt began. They were forced to bond in order to survive. The lighting became brighter and scenes featured both Ricky and Hector together, they spoke normally with few minor arguments. Rick and Hector bond, Hec teaches Ricky how to hunt, fish and many more valuable life skills in the forest. When the scenes became brighter, it made it more warming and gentle, when they had shots together and not individually it seemed like you were watching a family on a hike. Their relationship was like a web- one by one each thread was attached, until it was finished- the relationship was strong and almost unbreakable.
Near the end it is seen that the army is involved in the hunt, that is when Hector tries to give up- Ricky trying to stop him- but doesn’t succeed, ending up in a car yard being surrounded by Police (Arm Defender Squad), The Army and a few others. Once again Hector tried to give up. This time in efforts to stop him Ricky said Hector molested him. Hector tried denying it and walked away. Arms in the ear. Unfortunately he was shot in the hindquarters. The camera started showing shots of one character at a time, the lighting being darker. As the distance grew, they grew apart more. That perfect web that was created- Snapped.
At the end, Hector got out of prison and into a rest home, he was sitting outside reading one day when Ricky appeared out of nowhere. Hector tried to push him away and avoid any conversation but gave in. Talking to Ricky when the teenager pulled out a camera. With that Ricky offered for them to go in the bush but got denied. Ricky continued trying but this time Hector gave in. Around this scene the lighting was brighter and more warming, the shots showed a close up of them as well as them at a distance. It shows that they are comfortable around each other, that they went from being against each other and not willing to speak to the other- mainly on Hectors side- to everything being resolved and them being happy with each other again.
The relationship between the two showcase change and growth, hence why it’s important. Despite having arguments throughout the movie they moved past that and grew close. Uncle Hec wrote a Haiku at the end of the movie to say how he feels “Me and this fat kid. We ran, we ate and read books. And it was the best.”
