Whale Rider

Grade: A Running Time: 105 Minutes Rated: PG-13

Whale Rider is a small film making huge waves on every shore. It tells the tale of a tiny village in New Zealand trying desperately to cling to its Maori tribal traditions against the backdrop of a modern world where traditions hold little value. Written and directed by Niki Caro and based on a novel by Witi Ihimaera, Whale Rider continues to receive towering praise long after its award-winning debut on the independent film festival circuit.

Whale Rider opens with; you guessed it, a Whale. The stocky grey mass twists through the murky water while twelve-year-old Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes) narrates the legend of her namesake and the impending crisis facing her village. The crisis; who will be the next Whale Rider or leader of the village? On the surface it's a simple story, but like the ocean that is so much a part of the villager's lives, below the surface is a far more complex world; a quagmire of duty, tradition, damaged relationships, and changing times.

Koro (Rawiri Patene) is the current leader of this little coastal village. He is so passionately driven to maintain the traditions of his people that he is blind to the havoc he wreaks on the relationships around him. It's a thankless job and Koro feels it. He wears such a perpetual scowl of anger and pain, it's like his face just gave up and froze in that position. He can be a loving leader as long as you play by his rules, but step outside his will and the spigot of his love quickly rotates to the off position. His oldest son Porourangi (Cliff Curtis) finds this out first hand.

Porourangi is Koro's first born. By custom he is in line to be the next leader of his people; the next Whale Rider. But, Porourangi has no interest in the life of a Maori leader. He has been bitten by the bug of modern life and desires instead to travel the world as an artist. The breaking point for Koro and Porourangi is the death of Porourangi's wife and first born son during delivery. Although a beautiful healthy twin girl (Paikea) is also delivered, Koro is coldly focused on an heir; a boy. He doesn't even acknowledge his granddaughter until his wife, the fun and feisty Nanny Flowers (Vicky Haughton), forces him. Distraught over these events, Porourangi flees the country with his pain, leaving his newborn daughter to be raised by Koro and Nanny.

The story picks up when Paikea (known as Pai) is twelve. The anger and resentment that Koro felt for Pai at her birth is gone. His joy in his granddaughter is evident as they ride tandem on a single-seat bicycle (much to the chagrin of child safety advocates everywhere) amongst the green hills and blue water bays of their land. Koro, however, is still haunted by the need to find a successor for his people. This fact weighs heavy on young Pai. She is painfully aware that Koro wanted a grandson and not a granddaughter. Unlike her absent father, Pai feels a connection with her Maori roots and desires deeply to safeguard their traditions. At one point she scolds her grandmother and two other women for smoking while playing cards because they need to safeguard the Maori women's child bearing abilities.

Pai comes to believe she is destined to lead her people. She tries desperately to include herself as her grandfather teaches the village's first-born boys the ancient ways. But, Koro is staunch in his execution of the sacred traditions; which means no girls. At every turn Koro derails Pai in her attempts to subvert his authority and learn what she must know to be a leader. Koro's frustration with Pai creates a deep divide between them, but the chasm only exists for Koro. The resilient Pai continues to love her grandfather in spite of himself. In a scene that could jerk tears out of the Mojave Desert, Pai weeps as she recites a speech honoring Koro to a room full of villagers and one empty chair.

The film's climax is stunning both visually and in context. It demonstrates the substance of the Maori's interwoven dependence on nature; specifically the ocean and the whale. Director Niki Caro deftly uses the script and the camera in this closing sequence to keep the audience guessing as to the final outcome; one which won't disappoint.

The acting in Whale Rider is superb. Keisha Castle-Hughes as Paikea carries the film with a screen presence most adult actors can only dream of achieving. She is pure child while simultaneously giving off the air of a mature adult wrestling with adult issues. Simply brilliant! Rawiri Patene as Koro at first seems too stiff and rigid, but as his character unfolds you realize how intensely he takes his mandate to pass on their tribal traditions. With this knowledge in hand, Rawiri is masterful as the overbearing leader of his people. My favorite role is Nanny Flowers, played by Vicky Haughton. There is something about an empowered woman standing up to a gritty old patriarch who no one else will confront. She added levity to tense situations and a sense of calm in knowing no matter how far Koro tried to veer of course, she was there to nudge him (or shove him) back on track.

Whale Rider doesn't have mind-boggling special effects, or spectacular car chases, or even steamy love scenes and yet it triumphs on every level. It's a fresh breeze blowing on the vast ocean of mammoth summer blockbusters. Thank you, Niki Caro.