Boy

Language includes "bulls--t," "shut up," "dork," "weirdo," "shat," "f--k off," "d--khead," "nuts," "bloody," "ass," "piss," "pr--ks," "pissing," "f--kers," "f--king," "a--hole," "s--t," "s--thole," "bloody hell," "hell," "d--k," "t-t," and "arses." A White teacher refers to himself by the derogatory term "honky." Sexual slang includes "rooting." Characters regularly call each other "egg," usually when they're making fun of one another. Middle-finger gesture.

Characters drink beer and smoke pot, including while driving. This includes an 11-year-old who's given both substances by their parent and is later seen drinking and smoking on their own. Kids pick marijuana leaves several times. During a party, adult characters get drunk; the following morning, some are seen passed out on the floor. At a bar, one character drowns their sorrows with a bottle of spirits. Characters smoke tobacco, including a teacher who smokes out of a window while teaching a class. Reference to "dope heads" and a car smelling of pot.

Violence is usually played for laughs and rarely graphic. Characters punch each other. Two tweens start to fight each other, but it never extends beyond pushing and grappling. Bullying includes one kid throwing water at another's crotch to imply they've wet themself. During imagined scenes, a character throws a spoon in a prison guard's eye, resulting in bloody injury, and also appears in battle during a war. Soldiers are seen with guns, and a character brandishes a machete on several occasions, including threatening a child with it. A young kid is seen with a black eye—it's suggested that it's the result of domestic violence. A fight scene is initially played like a dance routine, but with knives and chains. It's then played as an actual bar brawl, with a character being thrown to the floor and stamped on. Several characters are seen with bloody injuries. A character is hit over the head with a plank of wood. Later they angrily smash up a house, punching holes in the wall. A kid slaps their parent twice in the face. During a flashback, it's revealed that a mother died during childbirth; bloody legs and sheets are seen on camera. An animated sequence depicts a school bus crashing and bursting into flames. A pet goat is hit by a car; two kids drag it home and bury it. A dead rat is seen. Several scenes take place in a graveyard, where a parent is buried. Character falls—or perhaps intentionally falls—from a bridge into a river but survives unharmed. Threats include "I'll kick both your nuts off." Close-up of tattooing with a needle.

Tween and teen crushes and flirting. Parent talks crudely to their kid about sex: "Show her your d--k" and "feel her t-t." A kid lies about having sex with someone. Multiple references to French kissing and love bites ("hickeys"). Two kids are seen having a bath together in a nonsexual context.

Set in a Māori community in New Zealand. Nearly all actors, and director, are of Māori heritage. English is mostly spoken, but one character speaks Māori on a couple of occasions, including during a prayer at mealtime. Central family unit sees siblings and cousins living together with their grandmother as their guardian; it's portrayed as a loving home, even though the kids are left alone under the guidance of an 11-year-old. A father teaches a stereotypical idea of masculinity to his kids, which involves tattoos, drinking beer, etc. Boy tries to be macho in response and says "this is man's work" to his younger brother when digging in a field. Female characters don't take central roles, though Aunty Gracey is seen to be a strong woman who runs most of the local businesses, and is revered by local kids and adults. Boy's female friends don't adhere to gender roles, playing the same games as the boys and dressing in similar outfits of jeans and T-shirts. Nan, who officially cares for the family, is absent through most of the film. A teacher makes a crass, ill-informed comment about how only gay people can get AIDS. Kids call a local man who's suffering mental health problems a "weirdo" and "mental" and throw rocks at him.