Tomris Laffly As expansive and inviting as its picturesque New Zealand landscapes, a joyous sense of adventure shines through in Ant Timpson’s “Bookworm,” a delightfully quirky father-daughter adventure with the perfect blend of childlike wonder and grown-up bite.
It’s a charming escapade that brings Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” to mind — in that, “Bookworm” is for everyone who takes their family road movies with a side of maturity, breathtaking stakes and a droll sense of humor.
Think “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” and “Up,” with some “Indiana Jones” mixed in, and you’ll be in the ballpark. At the heart of the story is the 11-year-old Mildred (the terrific breakout Nell Fisher), a precocious tween being raised modestly in the Canterbury region by a single Kiwi mom working several jobs to make ends meet.
In cinema, children outfitted with precociousness can sometimes be a cringey deal, like watching a young one overeagerly emulating an adult in mannerisms that are a few sizes too large.
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