| Whale Rider Review |
| by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (Rating: 3.5/4) |
| Directed by Niki Caro. Screenplay by Caro, based on the novel by Witi
Ihimaera. Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Cliff Curtis.
Running time: 101 minutes. Rated PG for mild language by the MFCB.
Reviewed on September 14th, 2003. more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Josh Gilchrist (Rating: 4/4) |
| Nothing pleases a cynical film critic more than witnessing passion given by a
young, untapped talent, something which the greatest actors do with ease. Think more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Mark R. Leeper (Rating: 8/10) |
| CAPSULE: Though this story of New Zealand's Maori
people is set in the present and told with some
realism, it is still enchanting. WHALE RIDER is
the mythic story of a girl chosen by the gods to
lead her village. Pai seems to...more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Richard A. Zwelling (Rating: 4/4) |
| The last four-star review I gave out was for Finding Nemo. It
involved, among other things, talking to whales. Now, I emphatically
give out only my third four-star review this year to Whale Rider,
which involves, among other things...talking to whales. more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Susan Granger (Rating: 9/10) |
| Susan Granger's review of "Whale Rider" (Newmarket Films)
If you enjoyed how John Sayles evoked the Irish essence in "The Secret of
Roan Inish," don't miss Niki Caro's contemporary fable set in New Zealand's
traditionally patrilineal Maori culture....more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Jonathan F. Richards |
| In the summer of 1986, when Maori writer Witi Ihimaera was serving in
Manhattan as New Zealand's Consul General, an errant whale took a wrong turn and
wandered up the Hudson River. It put Ihimaera in mind of an ancient legend from
his home half a...more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Jon Popick (Rating: 9/10) |
| It has won audience awards at film fests from Rotterdam to Sundance, but no
trophy is more impressive than the one Whale Rider earned at last year's
Toronto International Film Festival. In the seven years I've been attending
Toronto, the audience has...more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Laura Clifford (Rating: B) |
| When Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) was born, her grandfather, a Whangara chief,
waited anxiously for a boy who could become the new leader for his people, but
Pai's twin brother and mother died during childbirth. Pai has a deep connection
with her...more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Karina Montgomery (Rating: 4/5) |
| I had the good fortune to see this film with my New Zealander friend,
who had all kinds of nostalgic insight into the elementary school
life of the Maori girl around whom this film centers. While
occasionally a little heavy handed and obvious with...more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Harvey S. Karten (Rating: B) |
| Reviewed by: Harvey S. Karten
Grade:B
Newmarket Films
Directed by: Niki Caro
Written by: Niki Caro, novel by Witi Ihimaera
Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton,
Cliff Curtin, Grant Roa, Mana Taumauunu, Rachel House
Screened at:...more |
| Whale Rider Review |
| by Steve Rhodes (Rating: 3/4) |
| Niki Caro's WHALE RIDER is a touching, coming-of-age drama about Pai, a child
destined to be a chief but who has the misfortune to have been born the wrong
sex. Pai's mother and her twin brother die when she is born. Soon thereafter,
her father...more |
