Paï : L'Élue d'un peuple nouveau

If you have lost your belief in magic, perhaps this is a tale you need to hear about a film you need to see. It is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl, a class clown, a show-off. When strangers invaded her classroom one day, she continued to do what she was used to doing, playing the fool, thus attracting the strangers' attention.

The strangers cast her as the lead in a film. Though it looked like a small film to begin with, it turned out to be an international blockbuster. Then one day, she read in the newspaper that she had been nominated for the most prestigious acting award in the entire world. Her first acting performance had catapulted her from obscurity to the winner's circle, in competition with Diane Keaton, Samantha Morton, Charlize Theron and Naomi Watts for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Keisha Castle-Hughes is the youngest person ever to be nominated for best actress by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Anna Paquin, discovered by the same casting agent, won an Oscar in 1993 for The Piano, but that was for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Yet she was not the youngest. In 1973, Tatem O'Neal won for Paper Moon at the ripe old age of ten.

So, we have established that fairy tales can still come true, but not without the proper vehicle, and I do not mean a pumpkin drawn by white mice. The vehicle in this instance is a very carefully designed and orchestrated film. And where do great films start? With the writer(s), of course.

Another fairy tale? Witi Ihimaera is the first Maori writer ever to have published both a book of short stories and a novel. He says he was sitting in his New York home one day overlooking the Hudson River when he saw a whale breach the waterline. A whale in the Hudson River? Mr. Ihimaera took it as a sign.

Inspired by stories of ancient tradition that streamed into his mind, over the next three weeks, Mr. Ihimaera wrote The Whale Rider. It is this one work of his that the Maori community accepts as being most representative of their culture, and the novel that became the backbone for the screenplay for the film Whale Rider (co-written by Witi Ihimaera and director Niki Caro).

Maori legend tells of a great man, Paikea, who came many ages ago riding o n the back of a whale and landed on the shores of a new world. He left word that someday another great whale rider would be born to lead the Maori people.

The film begins with a scene in a hospital of a young woman giving birth to twins. The boy is stillborn. With her last breath, she whispers to her husband, `Paikea, Paikea.' The remaining girl child is blessed with that name as the mother dies.

Paikea's father, Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), crushed by the loss of his wife, departs his homeland, leaving Paikea in the caring hands of his parents, Koro and Nanny Flowers. `Pai' grows and becomes strong in the teachings of her people, yet she hears an inner voice as well.

Koro, her grandfather, is the chief of his people. When he sees that his son will not return, he begins to train the local boys in the ways of leadership. Pai believes that she could become the leader of her people, but her grandfather, though he loves her, rejects her.

Pai cannot be daunted; she is tougher than any of the boys. She hides around corners and eavesdrops as the boys are trained, learning the lessons, dance, movements and traditional ceremonies of her people.

Once he feels they are ready, Koro takes the boys out in a boat on the ocean and here he removes the carved whale's tooth, symbol of the chief, from around his neck, tossing it into the water. Though they try, none of the boys is able to retrieve it.

Here, the film takes a turn, one that is somewhat unexpected, and one that sets this film apart from the run of the mill. As part of a school pageant, Pai has written a work in honor of her people and has asked her grandfather to attend. It is this performance of the young woman that tests her skills as an actress, and is certainly one of the most touching moments in the film.

The rest of the film does not hinge so much on whether Pai's grandfather attends her performance or not. Something else occurs. Seven whales have beached themselves on the shore. Paikea has called the whales and they have responded to her call. As the people of the village struggle to help the whales return to the ocean before they die, Koro's other son shows him the carved whale's tooth.

`Which of the boys got it?' Koro asks. His son tells him it wasn't one of the boys. `It was she,' he says, pointing to Paikea, now sitting on the back of the biggest of the whales.

There is a very big difference in a film made for twelve-year-old girls and a film about a twelve-year-old girl, especially one on the threshold of womanhood. This is a film about traditions, about beliefs, about growing up, about magic, and about love.

Director Niki Caro transcends ordinary film making with Whale Rider. The film played to standing ovations at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals, and with good reason. It is not a film that tells us anything is possible. It shows us. It does not sink into despair over the disappearing way of life of the Maori people. It shows us that any group of people, any tribe or village, any nation, can survive and even prosper if we rely on what we feel in our hearts.

I think that the movie `Whale Rider' is a really great movie because it does not only introduces a whole new culture and a different way of living but also tells about the hopes, believes and loves of people in a very different way. Besides that the actors of the movie are really very successful, we know that the main character was the youngest Oscar nominee with her performance although it was the first time she was acting in a movie.

I do not consider the Maori people as the people of New Zealand, and I do not think that the movie gives us information about the New Zealand people and their life styles. The whole thing is rather develops in a different world, a world that is ancient and unchanged. While watching the movie, we see lots of different things such as the traditional greetings of people by using their noses and heads or the chants(traditional songs) that they use to express their feelings. These are very interesting for me to learn and watch, I felt like as I am 8 or 9 years old and watching a documentory about a country that I have never seen before.

It was also very interesting for me to see and experience the feelings of love, hope or commitment in a very interesting way. I mean Pai loves her grandfather very much but it is a different kind of love that I have never seen.

I want to say why is the movie is really really great. The whole thing is about people from a different culture and a different world as I said before, and they do such weird things and you think that `ok, it is a part of their culture' and you somehow accept everything. But at the end it almost makes you believe that, Pai is really a prophet and she really can communicate with the whales and she did really rode that whale and all. The movie really makes you to believe that all the things are real.

In addition, the main actor Pai, really acts great, very good for her age and experience. Maybe it is because of their culture and all the kids of Maori are like that, but when she is sad and looks at you you get sore and when she is happy it makes you feel good. I think that is called good acting.

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.

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!