Taika Waititi’s quirky family caper has no explicit mention of Christmas – but that doesn’t stop it from being the best Christmas viewing
P
icking a Christmas movie is hard work. It needs to be suitable for the entire family, which rules out Die Hard, and entertaining for the whole family, which rules out It’s a Wonderful Life. It has to be good, which rules out Love Actually, and it has to suit distracted viewing, which rules out Muppet Christmas Carol, of which it’s a sin to miss a single second.
There is, however, no rule that says Christmas movies must include Christmas. Which is why Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the perfect Christmas movie.
To check some boxes for the yuletide pedants: it has snow. It even features Carol of the Bells (or at least its Ukrainian predecessor, Shchedryk). And while the holidays aren’t explicitly mentioned, Hunt for the Wilderpeople has the spirit of an antipodean Christmas – an odd-couple adventure bursting with humour, irreverence and endlessly quotable lines.
