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A Sony release. Written and directed by Niki Caro; starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene and Cliff Curtis. Released to DVD on October 30, 2003. 
My panning Whale Rider is a move that effectively separates me from the pantheons of other film critics in America. Exiting the screening of this film, I was amazed at the unanimously positive comments I heard that were being made by the other critics who had been in the audience. I began to wonder if we’d seen the same movie because, while Whale Rider does have its good points, I’d have a hard time classifying the project as anything above mediocre. But as I listened more carefully, I noticed that no one was praising anything tangible about the project. Every compliment was shrouded in mystery, with people stating that Whale Rider was ‘touching’, ‘uplifting’ and a ‘triumph of the human spirit’. The plot of Whale Rider is surprisingly simple. Set in New Zealand amongst the Maori people, the common belief is that the first born male son of the chief’s family will become the next chief. A large wrench like object is thrown into the standard when a girl, Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes), is born into the chief’s family and her mother dies during childbirth. As Paikea grows older she begins to feel the wrath of her grandfather and current chief, Koro (Rawiri Paratene), who stubbornly views Paikea as the tribes ultimate mistake. As a female there is no way that she could ever be chief. As one might glean from the ever-so-inspirational tagline, "One young girl dared to confront the past, change the present and determine the future", Whale Rider is a story of empowerment. Time and again, Paikea goes out of her way to impress Koro, and in each instance, Koro reacts in much the same way; he grunts once and turns his back on Paikea. As a female, there is no way that she could ever be chief. The performance by Castle-Hughes is magnificent. The character of Paikea is alive with energy, compassion and sorrow. Paratene is excellent as the stodgy old man, but neither of these award-caliber acting performances could take my mind off the fact that there were no sub-plots or other specifics on which to focus instead of on the Paikea/Koro relationship. Writer/director Niki Caro has crafted a beautiful film with surprisingly down-to-earth acting, it’s just that with a 101 minute running time, this one-trick pony well outlasts its welcome.
jackson casey yes, it's true: According to the University of Auckland (NZ), there are 78 species of whales in the world. |
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