Based on The Whale Rider by Witi IhimaeraStudio: South Pacific Films (2002)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Director: Niki Caro
Main Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes
Viewer’s Annotation: A young Maori girl, Pai Apirana is committed to helping her community preserve the ways of their ancestors even though her grandfather, the tribe’s chief, refuses to teach Pai because she is a girl.
Summary: Koro Apirana’s visible and devastating disappointment that his grandchild is a girl causes 12-year-old Pai to struggle to hold her head up around the stern man. Though Koro has two sons, he will be the last chief of his tribe unless a new leader emerges. Determined to find such a leader, Koro trains all of the tribe’s boys in the ways of their people, the descendants of Paikea the Whale Rider. Banished from Koro’s school, Pai still learns the chants and skills, surpassing the boys in every area and winning a regional speech contest with an essay about her Maori culture. Unmoved, Koro continues to ignore Pai. When a pod of whales beach themselves, the whole community despairs, for the hopelessness of the whales seems to mirror the tribe’s situation. Only Pai is able to pull everyone, even the whales, through the tragedy.
Notes: With incredible acting from the entire cast, this film is incredibly moving, depicting the tension between tradition and change for a community whose very identity is threatened by modern culture.
Flags: 5
