TW: Mentions of Suicide
I was scrolling through a site where I pirate films, and I came across this film cover and I was kind of confused as to what it was about so I read the description which read as follows:
"Family drama set in New Zealand about Geoff Crome, a young boy (Fulford) who immerses himself in his own private fantasy world where he meets Firpo (Papps), a strange being who dreams of being an Olympic athlete. Together, the two begin a close friendship as Geoff attempts to help Firpo realize his dream. However, it is not long until the adult world begins to impinge on his fantasy."
So I'm even more confused after reading that so I start watching it and holy shit this movie is wild! It was categorized as a 'family film' but it starts with a kid sneaking out of his house to a beach where an old woman screams at him that his mother is a drunk, and then she is chased off by a woman with a purple constable hat wielding a ruler. THAT'S JUST IN THE FIRST FEW MINUTES!
As for 'Firpo', I thought he'd be like a weird goblin creature, but no, he's a mentally ill guy who thinks he's a famous boxer, and essentially kidnaps this kid every day to help him train for the Olympics. He doesn't even appear until like 20 minutes into the
The main kid has a weird obsession with death and dying that just makes me think this kid is suicidal or something. He asks a lifeguard what it was like to be dead after the lifeguard demonstrates resuscitation, he makes his father do a bit as a crazed doctor who rips people's organs out, and he puts on a play where he is supposed to be shot and dies. It just feels so weird.
Apparently it won a ton of awards in New Zealand where it was made, so I guess it's more culturally relevant over there? Anyways, i wanted to tell more people about it cause it is so weird to me. I had to stop watching halfway though because it was just so bizarre!
I still recommend it though, put it on for your friends and don't tell them ANYTHING! Their reactions will be priceless.
- Cyber