Whale Rider

While 1994's "Once Were Warriors" was a violent look at Maori culture this is easily more upbeat and lyrical. Story starts out in a hospital where a mother has just given birth to twins and the male twin dies as does the mother. The remaining twin is a girl and the film is about her and how she thinks and wants to be the future leader of her village. The film is set in modern day and we see the girl Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) as a 12 year old who knows that her twin brother that died was suppose to be the future chief. Pai's father is Porourangi (Cliff Curtis) and he's an artist who has left the village for a career and Pai is raised by her grandparents Koro and Nanny (Rawiri Paratene and Vicky Haughton) and she craves the respect from Koro but he is of the old ways and is still searching for a new chief. She wants to learn the ways of being chief but Koro yells at her not to fool with the sacred ways of their people. Women are treated as second class but Pai eavesdrops on Koro's classes with the young boys and learns the ways. The film is directed by Niki Caro and its only her third film but this should definitely put her on everyones list as a great future director. The film is beautiful to look at and even though its not a big budget movie the story and images make this an unforgettable viewing experience. Caro does a wonderful job of allowing the story to tell itself without relying on plot contrivances. Even though the story is more of a fable it still comes across as relevant and believable. One scene in particular stands out and its the one where Pai is receiving an award at school and she has invited Koro to watch her but instead of him making the obligatory entrance, Koro has discovered something more important. The performances are superb and Castle-Hughes gives I think one of the best performances of the year. What makes it so amazing is that its her film debut! You would think that you were watching a seasoned actress but your not! She's incredible to look at and in some scenes she comes across as so strong willed but then in other shots she's just a fun loving young girl. Castle-Hughes conveys both sorrow and pity as she dreams of being a chief. A remarkable performance that was crucial to the film. Without her performance the film would come across as more distant emotionally. The images of Castle-Hughes on the back of the whale as it submerges are so haunting and beautiful and its these scenes that give it a lyrical quality and the emotional impact of the story is impossible to ignore. This is more than just a film its a viewing experience that everyone must see! Beautiful, haunting and a performance that you will never forget. Go see it!

I was fortunate to be in a packed screening last night of the 2nd ever showing of "Whale Rider" at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. This film had the entire audience enraptured with the adventures and struggles of its 11 year old heroine Pai (very convincingly played by novice actress Keisha Castle-Hughes). I think by the sound of sniffling and sight of hankies being drawn, that most of us were in tears for the entire third act. Director and screenplay writer Niki Caro ably brings this family oriented tale to life and hits all the right notes and makes all the correct pay-offs in every plot strand (no matter how slight).

The story is a battle of wills between the tradition bound village elder Koro (solidly played by Rawiri Paratene) and his own grand-daughter Pai. Koro is seeking a new chief among the first-born sons of his village to inspire their tribe in its present day struggles in 21st century New Zealand. Pai senses in her heart that she is that new chief (despite her gender) and will not give up her quest to prove herself worthy of the task, even if she has to do her training surreptitiously outside of the eye of her beloved (but unbending) grandfather. This is all filmed in the actual Whangara tribal areas on the North Island east coast with the enthusiastic participation of the present day descendants of the original whale rider Paikea, who, as legend has it, was brought to shore on the back of a whale.

Although this film deals with a small corner of the planet, its values and inspiring messages are universal and should find a welcome audience everywhere. Everyone is already familiar with New Zealand as the location setting for Peter Jackson's epic trilogy of the Lord of the Rings and now they have a chance to discover something about the real people who live there and their heritage. Highly recommended. A 10 out of 10!

This film, which opened in New York recently, was a total surprise. Director Niki Caro has done wonders in bringing this story to the screen as it shows a different and much simple world than the rat race of our society and the horrible times we live in.

The film presents a glimpse of the Maori society in New Zealand's North Island. Having visited New Zealand, but not being very familiar with the Maori culture, this film was a refreshing way to learn some aspects of it.

The story presented here has a lot to do with pride and tradition, which is a running theme among different cultural groups the world over. It has to do with the frustration of Koro by the defection of his eldest son, the designated heir of hundred years of a bloodline where only the males can carry the knowledge and the legends from one generation to the next.

Because of the rage Porourangi, the eldest son, feels after the death of his wife giving birth to twins, where only the female survives, he leaves his country and the baby girl is taken by the grandparents. The girl, Pai, will grow to be an enchanting girl who will be excluded from the teachings of her grandfather Koro. Even though he loves the girl, he can't deviate in his narrow vision of the world he knows.

Basically, it is a simple story very well told with a great performance by the child actress Keisha Castle-Hughes. This girl has such a strong magnetism while on camera that one tends to forget the rest of the other characters every time she appears. The grandparents are very well portrayed by Rawiri Paratene and Vicky Houghton.

This is a film for all ages to enjoy. Compare it with the latest releases from Hollywood, and it's no wonder to arrive at the conclusion that stories like Whale Rider have such an universal appeal that should be brought to the screen more often because of the positive way they show a society and its people at its best.

Whale Rider is a story of the quest for the new leader of an indigenous Maori tribe living on an island off the coast of New Zealand. Often this type of film ends up making a caricature of the people, accentuating their quaint customs and idiosyncratic behaviors and causing us to smile condescendingly at their ignorance and stunted development. Whale Rider does nothing of the kind. Director Niki Caro treats her subject matter with profound respect, genuine curiosity and effortless grace, while refusing to ignore the signs of cultural disintegration. It is as if we are invited into the Whangara community, and are free to observe comfortably, without fear or embellishment. The 11-year-old first-time actor Keisha Castle-Hughes gives the most astonishing performance by a child that I have ever witnessed, and lifts the movie from being just plain good to a profoundly moving experience. Whale Rider is a tale of the evolution of a culture, wrapped in humor and hope. It is a story of an indomitable spirit. It is a movie about love and change, about the grim realities of life and the marvelous miracles of faith. If you have a chance to see this film, do not miss it!

After many months of watching films of which the best deserved IMDb ratings of six. seven or eight, I viewed this really exceptional film that I felt deserved at least double anything else I had seen recently, so a comparative rating of 15 would not have seemed out of place. This, and the many 'best film' awards it has received from film festival audiences, leave me with little doubt that here we have a classic of the future. Surprisingly it comes into that most difficult of categories - the family film - not a film that Dad can sleep through whilst the kids enjoy it, or one which gives Dad and Mum some pleasure whilst the kids wish they had not been dragged away from the telly, but a film that can really be enjoyed by all the family - except perhaps teenage boys at the age where their horizons have just widened to the extent that they are interested only in films featuring unrelenting action and adventure, preferably accompanied by unremitting violence.

The DVD of 'Whale Rider' was released in 2004 but it never attracted me greatly. and getting round to watching it has taken me some time. There are so many films of a similar type where the story sounds very admirable and wholesome, but experience warns that the combination of a cast of enthusiastic and largely non-professional actors, a limited budget, and over-enthusiastic direction by somebody not fully understanding the limitations of the medium, often culminates in a rather mawkish product. The fear that this might have happened here has kept me away for a long time. To anyone else in this position let me recommend getting a disk and giving it a spin as soon as possible.

Admittedly promoters of such films take a considerable risk - often their final budget stands or falls largely on the performance of the star. The rest of the cast are essentially ordinary people playing themselves and even though they may not have much acting experience, their parts are not too demanding so minor imperfections are often not too disruptive. But one minor glitch in the performance of the star can break the spell which is created when the audience begins to feel involved in the story and concerned about what happens to the individuals portrayed. This is essentially a film by a woman director about feminine empowerment, but not the sterile antagonistic type which looks for a world run exclusively by women (preferably with only a few men left around to keep the sperm banks well stocked). Here we are looking at the true equality that first began to be recognised during the World Wars of the twentieth century when everyone understood there was an enormous task to accomplish and we could never finish it unless we harnessed the full abilities of everyone in our society. This is a film from New Zealand where the leaders of a traditionally male dominated Maori culture, badly disrupted by the impact of the more sophisticated civilization of western settlers, are attempting to go back to their roots to avoid being totally absorbed into the new colonial culture but remain unable to fully recognise that women must play a vital part in any process of cultural regeneration. This film, based on a book by the first Maori author to have a work published in North America, is a fictional fable that shows one way in which such an essential change to the fundamental structure of their traditional culture might take place.

This may not sound like the basis for an enjoyable film for a Western family audience, but the host of best film awards it has received does convey some sense of the extent to which it is a very exceptional movie. Although almost everyone involved played their full part in its success; it was ultimately the outstanding Oscar nominated performance given by its star which made the film memorable. Keisha Castle-Hughes was 12 years old when this was filmed and it won her the youngest ever Best Actress nomination. If there were only more young actors of this calibre, we might have more films fostering positive values in society, rather than often competing to outdo each other in violence, horror or degradation. Incidentally, but more importantly, we might also begin to find that the former films are capable of providing us all, including the younger generation, with a generally more enjoyable viewing experience.