‘Ida’ & ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ – Who are You? Where Do You Belong?
A few weeks ago I enjoyed a cinematic double-header and came out a winner with both. Ida (2013, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski) won an oscar in 2015 for the Best International Feature Film. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016, directed by Taika Waititi) debuted more recently and has been well received and highly acclaimed. Different as night and day in style, genre, setting, cinematography, and dialogue, they both share a common underlying theme.
Ida
It is 1962 and young Anna is about to take her vows as a Catholic nun. Encouraged to get to know her aunt, her only remaining family member and a woman she has never met, she reluctantly leaves the place where she has lived since infancy. It is during this familial encounter that Anna learns of her Jewish heritage and birth name, Ida. It becomes imperative for her to take a look into her past. Filmed in stark shades of gray, a post war Polish city provides the setting for this haunting drama. The camera tends to settle on the faces and upper torsos of the characters, drawing the viewer into personal, intimate space. Sparse dialogue, the few phrases and words are separated by extended silence. The created atmosphere is silent, somber and heavy with the inevitable need to experience personal exploration and honesty.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Traveling to the other side of the globe, we landed in the rugged wilds of the New Zealand bush and meet young Ricky Baker, a Maori in foster care. He has just arrived at his latest foster home, having been kicked out of all previous placements. Readily defiant and dismissive of this new arrangement, Ricky quickly takes to the hills in an aborted chance at running away. Tender, vulnerable moments, unforeseen tragedy, and rebellion send this lonely boy and his new “uncle” into the bush as they both seek to avoid pain and find connection to life. The majestic beauty of the countryside and the rustic isolation of country living becomes the backdrop for this colorful film. The aloneness of the characters is set in contrast to the vastness of the environment as the camera moves back and forth between the scenic and the personal. Dialogue abounds laced with humour and adventure, and hints at growing vulnerability. The atmosphere is charged with quiet desperation, comic relief, and parody of governmental hypocrisy, revealing a hunt for something significant beyond the obvious.
Two films, both so very unique, invite the viewer to enter into a mutually shared story. Ida, her aunt, Ricky and his uncle all embark on a journey to discover who they really are, their family history, and where they truly belong. It is an age old narrative told in two very different, refreshing ways.
Mary, Oct 2019
* image & video posted under fair use of copyright material in recommendation of the film
4 Comments
Submit a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Recent Posts
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
The Korean writer Hwang Bo-Reum has previously written several essay collections. This is her first novel. The book’s protagonist Yeongju did everything she was supposed to do: Go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, she abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career and starts to follow her dream. She opens a bookshop.
The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin
The Music of Bees, debut novel by Eileen Garvin, is a thoughtful, life-affirming story that invites the reader to consider the healing power of community. It is present day rural Oregon; a region dotted with fruit farms as well as other agricultural endeavors.
Films with a Common Theme: Difficulty in Close Relationships
The past week I happened to see three 2025 films that had in common the theme of pains and deficits in close relationships…
Thanks for bringing back memories of both films. In the case of Ida it is more than four years ago I saw this film. I consider it as a modern cinema classic. So, it is time for me to revisit this film!
The trailer for Hunt for the Wilder People has really grabbed my attention – I hope to be able to see this film soon, thanks for highlighting it for us.
Watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople – what a wonderful film in so many ways!!
Watched Ida last night as part of a series of talks by a philosopher. In his introduction of this movie, he quoted Kierkegaard :”Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Wollheim however stated that : “to understand life intrinsically is the same as living ones life”. This movie is about looking backwards to understand and trying to reconcile with the past , while finding one’s way going forward by living.