WHALE RIDER
Directed by: Niki Caro.
Produced by: John Barnett, Frank Hübner & Tim Sanders.
Written by: Caro, based upon the novel by Witi Ihimaera.
Director of Photography: Leon Narbey.
Edited by: David Coulson.
Music by: Lisa Gerrard.
Released by: Newmarket.
Country of Origin: New Zealand/Germany. 105 min. Rated: PG-13.
With: Keisha Castle-Hughes & Rawiri Paratene.

This is a beautifully filmed coming-of-age tale of a proud Maori girl, Pai, and her battle of wills with her equally stubborn grandfather Koro. Also her guardian, Koro (Paratene) is devastated when her twin brother, his great hope, dies at childbirth. Fearing that his culture is dying, he is determined to find a new chieftain after being disappointed by his own sons, including Pai’s father, an artist living in Germany. Koro loves his granddaughter yet angrily banishes her from his sacred school of learning where he teaches a motley crew of boys to be his successor. Pai, as played by Castle-Hughes, is quietly confident and vulnerable, not simply wise beyond her years. In contrast to her subtle performance, Paratene is wooden and heavy-handed. Although this is a revealing look at the Maori culture, with beautiful underwater photography, the film’s target audience is in question. The pace is too sluggish for adolescents and certainly too predictable for adults. A more exciting choice with similar themes is Rabbit-Proof Fence, featuring another determined heroine who treks hundreds of miles on foot through the Australian Outback to return home. KT
July 21, 2003