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Whale Rider - 6/6/03 - PG-13 - 105m
Keisha
Castle-Hughes - Pai
Rawiri
Paratene - Koro
Vicky Haughton - Nanny Flowers
Director: Niki Caro
Writer: Niki Caro
JEF
I took a gamble on this movie, and I think it paid off. I only
saw a trailer for this movie one time, and was impressed with the visuals.
The storyline, I wasn’t so sure about. But after seeing the movie,
I’m glad I took a chance on this small film.
Storyline: In a nutshell, this is a movie portraying
the tale of a tribe of Whangara people, living on the east coast of New
Zealand. The tribe has a ritual, where the next chief of the tribe will
be the first newborn son. But, here’s the catch of the movie, the
mother, gives birth to twins, one male, and one female. Tragically, the
male and the mother die at childbirth. Only leaving the daughter “Pai”
(Keisha Castle-Hughes). The current tribe leader, her grandfather, “Koro”
(Rawiri Paratene) is very disappointed and must now figure out what to
do now that the lineage will be broken in the line of chiefs. Fast-forward
10-12 years, and as Koro is attempting to figure out how to choose the
next Chief, Pai may still have something to say about tradition, despite
her grandfather’s wishes. A coming of age story for Pai, as she
struggles for her grandfather’s approval, and her attempts to find
out what her role is within the tribe.
This movie as a whole was very well done. I did find a few rough spots
around the edges, but I think mainly due to Keisha’s performance
everything else became secondary. The plot was a little transparent. There
were not too many surprises. Although I had never heard the folklore around
the premise of the movie, it was simple enough to figure out, and see
where the film was headed. But sometimes with movies, it doesn’t
really matter that we see which way the story is going to go, but rather
the telling of the story itself that is the entertainment.
I also had a problem with the character of Pai’s father. It was
confusing exactly how he fit into the story, and if you ask me, certain
parts of his role could have been totally cut from the movie. But luckily
he wasn’t in the movie that much anyway, so this again would be
a minor point.
But onto the praise… the filming or cinematography was great. The
land of New Zealand (which Peter Jackson has introduced us to in his Lord
of the Rings series) is a beautiful place. This movie doesn’t show
much of the grandiose or different landscapes of NZ, that LOTR did, but
focuses more on a small coastal town. It felt like you could almost smell
the salt-water air, or the chill in the air on a cool crisp morning. It
reminded me of a small coastal town on the New England coast here in the
states that somehow managed to escape any sort of commercialization.
But the real strength of this movie is the performance of several characters.
Koro the grandfather, played by Rawiri Paratene, did a great job of expressing
stern strict leadership of a chief, and occasionally you got to see glimpses
of his softer side in his love for his granddaughter. The way he drove
her around town on his bicycle was filmed beautifully. The strong willed,
and caring role of the grandmother played by “Nanny flowers”
(I think), was great. As the grandfather tended to be too full of himself
at times, the grandmother was able to knock him down a peg or two with
a stubbornness that even the “Chief” would not mess with.
Like I’ve stated a couple times above, the main character of “Pai”
(Keisha), was outstanding. This young girl had such an on screen presence.
She has that magical quality that shows inner strength and compassion
that the camera and we the viewers can see and feel. The scene with her
giving a presentation at a school play was terrific.
Finally, I was also glad to see this movie because it was another fine
movie that showed me, a piece of another culture. The language of the
Whangara people was fantastic to listen to, and the way the director handled
that part of it was nice. Only a few subtitles when you really needed
them, and the rest we were able to figure out what they were talking about.
(Don’t get me wrong about 99% of the movie is in English). The art
of the tribe was only shown briefly at times, but it had that sort of
Eskimo/ American Indian quality to it. The “school” had these
amazing relief carvings on the wooden walls.
If you’re looking to escape the summers Hollywood blockbuster movies
with the mind numbing action, and CGI effects, treat yourself to this
movie.
Jef
