Whale Rider Review
by Mark R. Leeper (markrleeper AT yahoo DOT com)July 8th, 2003
WHALE RIDER
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
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 have a mystic
destiny, but the story is told as if it happened
to people with real 21st century problems. Though
some of the material is familiar and cliched, it
is still an affecting story. Rating: 8 (0 to 10),
high +2 (-4 to +4)
WHALE RIDER has the plot of what could be a children's story, but it is told on an adult level. The overall plot is a leader-origin myth, more or less like the King Arthur legend. It is the story of Pai (played by Keisha Castle-Hughes), whom we know should be leader of her Maori village in spite of the tradition that that title must go to a boy. But this tale is not told in a distant land and time. It is set in current day New Zealand and the story is told with characters who have realistic problems and talk about them with believable dialog. We get a good look at the lifestyles of the contemporary Maori peoples. These are people who believe in the stories of their ancestors and for whom the age of magic is not over.
Pai's life is trouble and pain from the very beginning. Her mother and twin brother died giving her birth. Her father Porourangi (Cliff Curtis) could not stay around and goes off to Europe to forget the family he has lost. In his place Pai's grandparents raise her. Her grandmother is sympathetic, but her grandfather Koro (Rawiri Paratene) blames her for more than the death of her mother. That would be bad enough. But Koro believes she had destroyed the future of the village by robbing it of their future leader. Koro is the current leader of the village and custom says that he should pass that title on to his son or grandson. With the twin tragedies at Pai's birth and the loss of Porourangi there was no grandson born and there will not be one. Koro must train the boys in the village in the ways of their people in the hopes that one will prove himself worthy to replace Koro as the leader. Girls are not eligible for this training that is partially academic, partially ritual, and partially martial arts.
While Pai has no particular ambition to be leader, she does have a thirst for knowledge and she resents not being able to learn like the boys do. She decides to study and get the same education for herself. The film in some ways seems like a South Pacific version of YENTL. Koro loves his granddaughter, but he loves the traditions of his people more. That is where his loyalties must lay. He cannot accept that his granddaughter is worthy to learn, much less be a chief and he refuses to acknowledge her accomplishments. Pai desperately wants to win the approval of her grandfather and the more she tries for it, the more his rebuffs hurt her.
The drama is written at a level not usually present in myth telling, but there is a mythic quality to the story. Koro's household is moderately dysfunctional with a son who runs away rather than facing what Koro believes is his responsibility. There are village problems and tensions between Koro and Pai. And there are disagreements between Koro and his wife. The film is written and directed by Niki Caro and based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera. While the photography frequently has a murky look, that only adds to the atmosphere. The film shows a people devoted to their public life. Most of the houses of the people show their simple lifestyle, but their public buildings show impressive ornate woodcarving. In many ways the film is in style also reminiscent of THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH.
Though some of the language may be briefly a little rough for young children, this is a film that certainly has something to offer a range of viewers from 10 to adult. I rate WHALE RIDER an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale. [-mrl]
Mark R. Leeper
[email protected]
Copyright 2003 Mark R. Leeper
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
