Whale Rider (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Whale Rider (Special Edition)
Movie Review: An absolute must see movie...
Summary: 5 Stars
In a native Maori New Zealand tribe, a set of twins are born into a long line of chiefs, the boy being the one destined to carry on the lineage of warriors, but fate takes a hand and alters the future. Both mother and her newborn son die shortly after the birth and a baby girl is left behind to fulfill a legacy. The father, too distraught over the loss of his wife and newborn son leaves his daughter in his parents' care. From the moment she was born Paikea was a reminder to her grandfather Koro that there was no male to carry on generations of Maori chiefs. Paikea struggles to convince her grandfather that she does not have to be a male to be a great leader and that she is the one who is meant to carry on the tradition and will lead their people forward into the future. Her father returns home with news that he is an expectant father and asks Paikea to go back to Germany with him. When she hears the distant sounds of the whales, it was a call to turn around and go home to her village. Still she was unable to stir emotion in her sober-faced grandfather. When Koro gathers a group of young boys for training to seek out the next one who was to be the leader, Paikea seizes the opportunity to prove herself worthy to her grandfather. Koro refuses to see her as anything other than a 12 year old girl. She only succeeds in angering him further in her futile attempts to become a fighter. Koro's spirit is broken when neither of the two potential boys who were chosen to find the whale's tooth he tosses overboard is able to deliver. Paikea, who senses her grandfather's pain and disappointment, takes it upon herself to call to the ancestors when Koro's attempts fail. Paikea tests her faith once again when she invites her grandfather to a school production only to leave heartbroken with trophy in hand and tears in her eyes. There is a very strong sense of tradition, family, togetherness and spirituality that bonds the people of the Maori tribe. They are an indigenous group of people that all bans together for celebrations and share a close knit relationship and profound belief in their heritage and rituals. Their primal instincts give them the strength of one and a true sense of brotherhood. When the next morning comes the village is awoken in horror at the sight of multiple beached whales on the shore. In her final, desperate attempt, young Paikea risks her life and sets out to prove once and for all that she is brave and can be a great leader. She is determined to fulfill her destiny in spite of the odds, ready to join the ranks of her ancestors and become the next generation Whale Rider.Movie Review: "...I come from a long line of chiefs."
Summary: 5 Stars
In 2002, Niki Caro directed and co-wrote the screenplay for the endearing New Zealand film "Whale Rider", which was based upon novel of the same name written by Witi Ihimaera and published in New Zealand in 1987. (In Maori, the title is "Te Kaieke Tohora".) The story is about a young Maori girl named Paikea 'Pai' Apirana (Keisha Castle-Hughes), who is a direct descendent of the Maori chief Paikea who arrived at Whangara, New Zealand on the back of a whale many generations ago. From that time forward, his first-born male descendents were each named after him and became chiefs; that is, until Paikea Apirana's parents gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, as their first-born children. Sadly, the twin's mother died during childbirth, as did the boy; but the girl survived and was named Paikea. Disgraced, her father, Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), leaves for Europe, so Pai's grandparents raise her instead. Her grandfather, Koro Apirana (Rawiri Paratene), views Pai as a bad omen for the tribe and embarks on finding a Maori boy worthy of becoming the next chief since he can't accept the possibility of a girl becoming chief. However, Pai's grandmother, Nanny Flowers (Vicky Haughton), loves Pai very much and encourages her to learn the ways of a chief in spite of Koro's objections."Whale Rider" was first released at the Toronto Film Festival in September, 2002, where it won the "People's Choice Award". As it was shown at various independent film festivals that followed, including the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, it continued to win awards and was finally released for general cinema in May, 2003 in Australia and in the U.S. one month later. Shortly thereafter, the Keisha Castle-Hughes received serious attention from film critics. She was rewarded for her performance in "Whale Rider" with an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Though she did not win the Oscar, she will hopefully continue to develop her acting abilities and continue to be a superb member of her generation of actors and actresses.
For its superb acting, wonderful story and incredible cinematography, I rate "Whale Rider" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. Other memorable characters in the film include Uncle Rawiri (Grant Roa), Hemi (Mana Taumaunu) and Shilo (Rachel House). Memorable scenes include Pai trying to clandestinely learn from Koro, Koro taking pupils out on a canoe, Pai finding the necklace, Pai reciting her history at school and the whales. I highly recommend this film to everyone.
Movie Review: Marvelous film - impossible to compare it to anything else
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a thoroughly satisfying but very, very unusual movie. Set in Auckland, New Zealand, in the present among members of a Maori tribe struggling to find a new leader, the movie is primarily about acceptance and rejection, and the difficulty of meeting expectations. The central character is an eleven-year-old girl, Pai, marvelously portrayed by newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes. Life starts off badly for her, with her mother dying in childbirth giving birth to Pai and her twin brother, who is stillborn. Her father more or less deserts her, partly because of the pain of losing his wife and son, but partly because of the strained relations with his father Koro, who was convinced that the infant boy would become the new leader of their tribe. Pai wants to take a place of leadership within her tribe, but is prevented by her rigidly traditional grandfather. Although smart and respectful of her ancestors and the traditional ways and beliefs, she is denied any potential role because of her gender. The film focuses both on her attempt to fulfill the role she feels calling out to her, and her attempt to win the affection and acceptance of her grandfather, whom she loves despite his hostility.
This is a beautiful film, and the climax is as satisfying as one could hope. One must allow oneself to become a bit of a believer in things mystical and magical, else the film won't work at crucial moments.
The film is populated with complete unknowns, except for Cliff Curtis, who plays Pai's father. He has appeared in a large number of big budget Hollywood films, frequently as heavies, including THREE KINGS, COLLATERAL DAMAGE, and TRAINING DAY. Just about everyone does an excellent job, though Keisha Castle-Hughes and Rawiri Paratene as Koro stand out.
Although many of the houses are inexpensive looking and even in some instances mildly dilapidated, nothing can disguise the extreme physical beauty of the locale. With a large bay and sandy beach facing the ocean, and striking, magnificent mountains ascending behind the houses, the location is strikingly beautiful.
This is not always an easy film to watch. Some of the scenes in which various individuals are expressing their feelings can be very hard to take, and Rawiri Paratene can express anger that is extremely realistic. Nonetheless, this film as a whole is one that deals with the possibility of healing, of acceptance, and of learning to expand the boundaries of one's conception of the world. I recommend it highly.
Movie Review: A beautiful and magical movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a story about the Maori tribe's struggles to carry on their traditions as they have for the past thousand years. However, when the first born son dies during birth and his twin sister, Pai, survives, it creates much tension in the tribe since females are not allowed to be chief under any circumstances. She is constantly shunned as an outcast by her grandfather and most of the tribe. Her grandfather attempts to train their indigenous ways to the other boys while Pai secretly watches from afar. With minimal help from her uncle and from watching the other boys, she learns all of the traditions and performs better than any of the boys trained by her grandfather. With the final test, retrieving the whale tooth, the boys each came up empty handed. While out on the ocean later with her uncle she asks about the tooth and then immediately dives deep to the bottom and finds it much to the dismay of the others. Her grandmother keeps it from her grandfather knowing it would hurt him further and he would never accept it. After her performance one evening, they find the beach covered in whales refusing to return to the sea. Their efforts are useless and Pai, watching from afar, knows why. As the rest of her people begin to leave, she confronts the largest whale and magically returns it, as well as all the others, to the ocean while riding on its back. It is at this point her grandfather finally accepts her special powers and abilities to lead their tribe.
Additionally, this movie reflects many aspects of indigenous people and their religions. The tribe is a very close knit community, typical of many indigenous ways. Pai's beautiful chanting in the Maori language is magical itself along with her emotional storytelling of her family's past. While Pai's grandfather is unable to get the spirits to listen to him and guide him, they do listen to Pai and help guide her through this journey. Pai acts as a shaman with her abilities to return the whales to the ocean. Other examples are the grandfather teaching the other boys a sacred dance and how to fight with the sticks like a warrior, and his token of a whale. The many references to the whales guiding the family are made even with them preventing Pai from moving to Germany with her father. The clash between the tribe's indigenous ways and modern influences are also apparent especially with Pai's father moving away to pursue his artistic talents, thus, leaving his parents to raise her.
Movie Review: Keisha Castle-Hughes fully deserves her OSCAR Nomination !!
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched the movie on a plane. I happened to have read about the film on some Internet newspapers, which was fortunate, as I would have picked "Pirates of Caribbean" if I had not known anything about this film. I was practically blown away by Keisha Castle-Hughes' performance. I was mesmerized by the Maori backdrop and the tale of the whale rider. I was moved to tears when I watched Castle-Hughes dedicate her tribal dances to her stubborn grandfather. I held my breath when I awaited to know her fate as she became associated with the "whale rider". The main theme for the first two-third of the movie is about the suffering of Castle-Hughes' character because of the rejection by her grandfather, who, although in fact loved her a lot, just could not contemplate a female should become a leader as he was so stuck with traditions, and her determination to prove herself again and again. She wanted to prove that she could do as well as (maybe even better than) other body, but she never did it in an aggressive or assertive way. I think this is a major difference between this movie and some other "teenager strive for success" movies. It shows the inner strength of Castle-Hughes' character, which will be an important asset if she ever becomes the tribe's leader.
The movie also provides a realistic picture of how the life of the Maori is like in modern-day New Zeland when they choose to stay together as a tribe community. Their life is simple, and material comfort is never rich but not primitive. And children go to schools in town.
Keisha Castle-Hughes carried the movie from start to finish, and left an unforgettable impression to the viewers. The grandfather and grandmother characters also gave terrific performance.
I ended up watching the film twice as it was replayed again on the plane. I never regretted missing "Pirates of Caribbean" -- I later watched "Pirates" in a full-fledged home theater environment but even so, I still judge "Whale Rider" to be a far more memorable film in 2003. Yes, "Pirates" got multiple Oscar nominations including best film, but I truly believe Keisha Castle-Hughes deserves her BEST LEADING ACTRESS OSCAR nomination, and the youngest nominee to boast (just 13, can you believe it?!!)
I bought this DVD and plan to watch it many times in future. I sincerely recommend you to do the same.