Whale Rider | Review

Real accents, real people and real emotions found in treasure from the land of the Maori.

If the folks at Disney want to know how to make a touching story about a whale, a child and co. they might want to check out the captivating, touching story coming from the bottom-left corner of the map. With the eye-piercing touch of New Zealand splendor, writer-director Niki Caro brings to us the delightfully-moving tale about resiliently strong little girl with an even bigger heart.

In the latest of intelligent aboriginal legends told on the big-screen with Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner and Rabbit-Proof Fence comes the magically mythic Whale Rider which on the surface shows how the first born have it rough and deep down this treasure discusses the differences generational gaps, gender issues, folklore and tradition and issues of abandonment of ethnicity, abandoned hopes and abandoned children. The strength of the picture comes from of Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) probably my favorite heroine since the girl in Ponette and perhaps Clarice Starling. She has this contained emotion and intelligence about her which packs an emotional wallop, a particularly strong moment comes when she recites with the utmost respect a passage which was forbidden to her by grandfather Koro (Rawiri Paratene – Rapa Nui) who plays the antagonist of the film, with a sort of mean streak within his character. A battle of childhood versus adult world ensues, of course, the spirit of a little girl who belts out her emotions and empties her heart wins over the war of differences and wins our heart.

From mangled insides of a rope to the tragic beaching of the whales sequence, Caro brilliantly adapts the novel providing many powerful moments by paralleling them to the little girls plight and her distressed family. Whale Rider looks great, the solid performances support the sensitivity and intensity found in the cinematography which captures these beautiful faces young and old with a certain softness. Equally as moving are the times in the film where a song number is used, communicating an index of emotions both beautiful and tragic.

This becomes more than just a film about the girl who can’t play in the sandbox with the other boys, this is a drama that although it hits similar emotional notes of Hollywood counterparts it doesn’t come across as one. Whale Rider is a great story for all of the family, not surprisingly this film won audiences awards all over the globe; it will win yours as well.

Rating 4 stars