Encantadora de Baleias

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.

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!

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!

Slow pace but never boring. Small girl 'Paikea' touches your heart with her quiet strength and determination. Time and again, she faces prejudice from her grandfather whom she never gives up loving. Her grandpa loves her too, but tradition and the single-mindedness that Paikea will never be the leader of their tribe forces him to refrain from showing his true emotions towards his only granddaughter. But young Paikea never gives up; she respects grandpa's decision and masks her desire to become the whale rider of her tribe.

The remarkably beautiful and serene scenery of New Zealand complements the eventual inner peace that Paikea achieves. To save the whales their tribe loves so much, she shows remarkable calmness in guiding the whales back into sea despite death staring her straight in the face.

An inspiring and well-executed film.

I don't use the word "masterpiece" often when reviewing a film but for "Whale Rider," it's an inadequate accolade. This is one of the most moving, beautiful and powerful films I have seen in years.

Screenplay author and director Niki Caro faithfully translated Witi Ihimaera's novel of the same name, a poignant and sometimes sad but ultimately uplifting story of New Zealand Maoris seeking, with the leadership of a difficult, stubborn and often harsh elder to sustain their peoples' values and customs.

Australia and New Zealand are both encountering, in politics and in culture (and often the two are inextricably linked), their shared heritage of white oppression of native peoples. Much of this history is unknown to Americans and Europeans who view Australia through a bird's eye picture of the Sydney Opera House and New Zealand with even fewer associational icons.

Recently, "Rabbitproof Fence" painfully depicted the policy of Australia to force lighter skin aborigines into "schools" where they would be nurtured to become "semi-whites" and then married to those of similar skin tone. The object was to bleach the blackness out of Australia and the horrors of this incarnation of cultural and anthropological genocide are on full display in that film.

"Whale Rider" takes a different and, in the end, perhaps a more powerful approach. There are virtually no whites in the film and only children's t-shirts and some music blasting from a boombox suggests the encroaching force of the controlling majority.

The cast is unknown to Americans and their names can be found on the IMDb homepage for the film. The lead actress, however, must be named. In the role of "Pai," a young girl whose mother dies at her birth along with her twin brother, is the extraordinary Keisha Castle-Hughes. She imbues every scene with a commanding and inviting vitality. Hers is an Academy Award (and any other major award) performance.

Pai's father left New Zealand for Europe, there to create and sell Maori crafts. She lives with her grandmother and grandfather, the latter some sort of unelected chieftain of the oceanside community. Bitter that no male heir will succeed him and alternately cruel and loving to his reluctantly acknowledged granddaughter, Koro starts a school to supplement the young boys' secular education with inculcation of the ways of the Maori. Pai wishes to join as an equal and is firmly, indeed harshly rebuffed at every turn.

If the Maori language has the phrase "You go, girl!," then it be directed towards the indefatigable but not arrogant Pai. It would have been easy to make her the kind of thoughtless rebel that nature often programs teenagers to be. The depth of her character resides in her simultaneous quest for equality and her understanding of her grandfather's unyielding attachment to patriarchal values. Pai's close relationship with her grandmother, a woman living a life universally recognizable to Americans, provides warmth and support and do some of her other relationships.

The story unfolds seamlessly with Maori music and rituals bridging the spoken dialogue (mostly in English, some in Maori with subtitles).

Partly a straight tale, partly a gripping mystical fable, "Whale Rider" never becomes saccharine.

The music and Maori songs complement but do not compete with the dialogue, a welcome change from many movies today. The land and the ocean are rawly gorgeous.

As in Australia, relations today between New Zealand's indigenous people and the descendants of their vanquishers are sometimes tense. There are open wounds from continuing political collisions over land and culture. The Maoris are not a monolith and internal dissension is active. Serious attempts to sustain Maori values and culture in the face of assimilative pressures meet with varied degrees of success (in Koro's Maori school the kids wear t-shirts with rock themes and one has a shirt advertising an upstate New York resort area if I saw correctly). New Zealand's most internationally renowned Maori is the opera diva Kiri te Kanawa who is now dedicated to Maori cultural restoration projects. "Whale Rider" can only give a boost to such efforts which, as this film shows, makes not only New Zealand but the world richer.

This is a film I will acquire on DVD as soon as it is available.

10/10.