boy - the 2010 movie from new zealand

thanks to some free preview tickets, i went to watch boy last night. before watching the movie, i had

• seen the trailer, which didn't particularly appeal to me - if i didn't already hold free tickets for the movie, i don't think i would have put this movie on my to see list.
• heard that the movie is the highest grossing new zealand movie of all time. this made me somewhat curious to see the movie and find out for myself how good is really is.
• seen increasing numbers of free tickets being given away/offered, which made me suspect that the movie is not really that good, but maybe had potential, so the marketing/promotions people are doing the hard sell to get many previewers to see the movie and get some word of mouth type advertising happening.
  

now that i have seen the movie, i'm thinking:

• it's kinda quirky - i'm not really sure what it was trying to be, as there were some funny bits though i wouldn't describe the movie as a comedy, and there were some fantastical elements which jarred a bit with what could have been a drama, which is another word i don't think quite fits in describing the movie.
• i don't know what the point of the movie/story was, or why it was worth telling.
• i definitely wouldn't have been happy paying money to see this, and can only conclude that i am very unlike the typical new zealand moviegoer.

so... not exactly a glowing review... but i guess if you like new zealand movies and wackyish stuff, you might find this enjoyable. for me, it had some moments, but as a whole it was generally forgettable.