Other Country Sites: France: Germany: United Kingdom: USA: New Zealand.Whale Rider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Whale Rider is a 2. New Zealand- Germanfamilydrama film directed by Niki Caro, based on the novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera. Please install Adobe Flash to view this site. The Whale Rider—a book (by Witi Ihimaera) and film inspired in part by the story of Paikea and Ruatapu. Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 198–9. Whale Rider movie reviews & Metacritic score: A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill her destiny. The film stars Keisha Castle- Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve- year- old Maori girl who wants to become the chief of the tribe. Her grandfather Koro believes that this is a role reserved for males only. The film was a coproduction between New Zealand and Germany. It was shot on location in Whangara, the setting of the novel. The world premiere was on 9 September 2. Whale Rider is set in a small New Zealand coastal village inhabited by Maoris who claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. For 1,000 years a male heir of the. It won the audience awards as the most popular film at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals, played to standing. Online gallery and store for artist Tresham Gregg. Work includes masks, totems, bronze, lamps, jewelry, and jackets. FILM SYNOPSIS In a small New Zealand coastal village, Maori claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. In every generation for more than one thousand years, a male heir born to the Chief succeeds to the title. On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a. Toronto International Film Festival. The film received critical acclaim upon its release. At age 1. 3, Keisha Castle- Hughes became the youngest nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress before she was surpassed by Quvenzhan. The film earned $4. The Whale Rider has 4,633 ratings and 537 reviews. Jenny (Reading Envy) said: I read this in my self-proclaimed New Zealand November, 2015. The leader should be the first- born grandson . However, Pai is female and technically cannot inherit the leadership. While her grandfather, Koro, later forms an affectionate bond with his granddaughter, carrying her to school every day on his bicycle, he also condemns her and blames her for conflicts happening within the tribe. At one point Paikea decides to leave with her father because her grandfather is mistreating her. She finds that she cannot bear to leave the sea as the whale seems to be calling her back. Pai tells her father to turn the car back and returns home. Pai's father refuses to assume traditional leadership; instead he moves to Germany to pursue a career as an artist. Pai herself is interested in the leadership, learning traditional songs and dances, but is given little encouragement by her grandfather. Pai feels that she can become the leader, although there's no precedent for a woman to do so, and is determined to succeed. Koro leads a cultural school for the village boys, hoping to find a new leader. He teaches the boys to use a taiaha (fighting stick). This is traditionally reserved for males. However, Nanny tells Pai that her second son, Pai's uncle, had won a taiaha tournament in his youth while he was still slim, so Pai secretly learns from him. She also secretly follows Koro's lessons. One of the students, Hemi, is also sympathetic towards her. Koro is enraged when he finds out, particularly when she wins her taiaha fight against Hemi. Koro's relationship with Pai erodes further when none of the boys succeed at the traditional task of recovering the rei puta (whale tooth) that he threw into the ocean . With the loss of the rei puta, Koro in despair calls out the Ancient ones, the whales. In an attempt to help, Pai also calls out to them and they hear her call. One day Pai finds the rei puta while swimming, signifying that she is the rightful leader. Pai, in an attempt to bridge the rift that has formed, invites Koro to be her guest of honour at a concert of M. Unknown to all, she had won an inter- school speech contest with a touching dedication to Koro and the traditions of the village. However, Koro was late, and as he was walking to the school, he notices that numerous right whales are beached near Pai's home. The entire village attempts to coax and drag them back into the water, but all efforts prove unsuccessful; even a tractor does not help. Koro sees it as a sign of his failure and despairs further. He admonishes Pai against touching the largest whale because . Also, the largest whale traditionally belongs to the legendary Paikea. When Koro walks away Pai climbs onto the back of the largest whale at the location and coaxes it to re- enter the ocean. The whale leads the entire pod back into the sea; Pai submerges completely underwater, and the spectators had wondered if she'd drowned, but were relieved when she came back above sea level. When she goes out to sea, Nanny shows Koro the whale tooth which Pai had previously recovered. When Pai is found and brought to the hospital, Koro declares her the leader and asks her forgiveness. The film ends with Pai's father, grandparents, and uncle coming together to celebrate her status as the new leader, as the finished waka is hauled into the sea for its maiden voyage. In voiceover, Pai declares, . I'm not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of our strength. Castle- Hughes impressed Caro in the resulting workshop and was cast as Pai. There are very physical things that are described in the book . The waka was given to the Whangara community after filming concluded. Based on 1. 44 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating from critics of 9. June 2. 01. 0. She held the record until 2. Quvenzhan. Area Film Critics Association: Soundtrack. Whale Rider Movie Review & Film Summary (2. It won the audience awards as the most popular film at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals, played to standing ovations, left audiences in tears. I recite these facts right at the top of this review because I fear you might make a hasty judgment that you don't want to see a movie about a 1. Maori girl who dreams of becoming the chief of her people. Sounds too ethnic, uplifting and feminist, right? The genius of the movie is the way is sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving. There is a vast difference between movies for 1. The boy and the mother die. The girl, Pai (Keisha Castle- Hughes) survives. Her father, Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), an artist, leaves New Zealand, and the little girl is raised and much loved by her grandparents Koro and Nanny Flowers. Koro is the chief of these people. Porourangi would be next in line but has no interest in returning home. Pai believes that she could serve as the chief, but her grandfather, despite his love, fiercely opposes this idea. He causes Pai much hurt by doubting her, questioning her achievements, insisting in the face of everything she achieves that she is only a girl. The movie, written and directed by Niki Caro, inspired by a novel by Witi Ihimaera, describes these events within the rhythms of daily life. This is not a simplistic fable but the story of real people living in modern times. There are moments when Pai is lost in discouragement and despair, and when her father comes for a visit she almost leaves with him. But, no, her people need her- -whether or not her grandfather realizes it. Pai is played by Keisha Castle- Hughes, a newcomer of whom it can only be said: This is a movie star. She stands up to her grandfather in painful scenes, she finds dignity, and yet the next second she's running around the village like the kid she is. The other roles are also strongly cast, especially Rawiri Paratene and Vicky Haughton as the grandparents. One day Koro summons all of the young teenage boys of the village to a series of compulsory lessons on how to be a Maori, and the leader of Maoris. There's an amusing sequence where they practice looking ferocious to scare their enemies. Pai, of course, is banned from these classes, but she eavesdrops and enlists a wayward uncle to reveal some of the secrets of the males. And then- -well, the movie does not end as we expect. It does not march obediently to standard plot requirements but develops an unexpected crisis and an unexpected solution. There is a scene set at a school ceremony, where Pai has composed a work in honor of her people and asked her grandfather to attend. Despite his anger, he will come, won't he? The movie seems headed for the ancient cliche of the auditorium door which opens at the last moment to reveal the person that the child onstage desperately hopes to see- -but no, that's not what happens. It isn't that Koro comes or that he doesn't come, but that something else altogether happens. Something in a larger and more significant scale, that brings together all of the themes of the film into a magnificent final sequence. It's not just an uplifting ending, but a transcendent one, inspired and inspiring, and we realize how special this movie really is. So many films by and about teenagers are mired in vulgarity and stupidity; this one, like its heroine, dares to dream.
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