If there is one lesson I have taken away from high school English, it is that all movies have deep and hidden meanings that were embedded by the director to reward smart people.
 
Well, at the risk of making others feel inferior for not observing this, I would like to point out the political brilliance of Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
 
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is not your typical Kiwi comedy. It is nuanced political commentary on the rise of paternalism. It may even be the most libertarian film New Zealand has produced.
 
I will admit, I too would have been blind to its genius if I hadn’t been so inspired by recent academic approaches to New Zealand film.
 
But after discovering a doctoral thesis studying the kinds of tourists who visit Lord of the Rings sets, I unequivocally support deepening this pool of knowledge.
 
The genre of New Zealand libertarian comedy is limited, which may explain why it has yet to receive the attention it deserves. Before this cinematic gem, the closest thing was probably David Seymour’s 2014 campaign video, which has clocked 41,491 views on YouTube (though the jury’s still out over whether the humour was intentional).
 
Wilderpeople centres around a young boy, Ricky, who is taken into foster care. When the foster mother dies, the state decides it is not appropriate to leave the boy in the care of the foster father. Rather than surrender to the state, Ricky joins the father in “going bush”.
 
So what are the libertarian themes here?
 
First, the state can be power-hungry. It can be incompetent. And can grossly misinterpret what people want for themselves.
 
In the film, Paula the child welfare officer expresses little concern for the boy she is tasked with taking into state care. Her mission to find Ricky is a test of her ego. The help Ricky receives from the state is neither particularly helpful nor welcome. The film in its entirety is a wonderful ode to freedom.
 
Maybe the New Zealand arts scene isn’t ready to come out of the closet as libertarian yet. Then again, maybe this is all a bit of a stretch: an attempt to add layers of meaning where it is not needed.

Either way, I hope someday libertarian comedy receives as much scholarly attention as feminist glacial theory, the cultural impact of Kanye West, and how Harry Potter reinforces white privilege.