Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Pluskylang
Great Film overall
ThrillMessage
There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
Behnam azizi
This is truly a very good movie in every aspects but its most beautiful and important one is the concept of respect. I can't imagine a better way that teaches everyone why and how to respect what they are and what others are. The music is great, cinematography is amazing and the story is very interesting. However it needs a little patient for one to fully enjoy it. Watch it , it will be an excellent experience.
thmurphy-37414
To start this all off, I would have to give Whale Rider a 8 out of 10 stars. The movie was a little hard to follow in the sense of not knowing much about Pai's family's culture, but that wasn't a very big problem. The story starts off with Pai's father in the hospital with Pai's mother, who is in childbirth. Pai's unborn brother dies with her mother, causing Pai's father to leave and go travel the world taking pictures. To me it was very surprising that a father would just leave his only daughter, especially after what occurred. Yet, I guess that is how he was to cope with the dramatic loss. I won't get too in depth about the rest of the story, but Pia's grandfather is looking for a new leader, and right from the start there are gender rolls that take place. Pia is not allowed to go for the position as the leader of the people, as she is only a girl. There is a constant love-hate relationship between Pia and Grandfather, yet it all ends towards the end. I won't spoil the ending, but it is very easy to get lost when it comes to why everything is happening. Besides that, Whale Rider is a very excellent movie, and I would recommend it to anyone. Before you watch it though, make sure to do some research on the movie and the people who are in it.
logatherum
I have very mixed emotions about this film. I enjoyed watching it because there were not very many slow scenes. However, it did seem a bit forced in terms of the acting. I did not really particularly like any of the character's roles, because they just seemed to be trying to hard to act in my opinion. If I had to choose a favorite character though, it would be the little girl because she was so under appreciated, it was almost (literally) unbelievable, and unrealistic. Her grandfather was so mean to her, but to me, it was a bit unclear as to why exactly, and why he did not somehow grow to love her. I was also confused about who her father was. In the beginning, I understand that her mother died during childbirth along with her twin brother, and that the man with the long hair at the hospital was her father. However, when the movie fast forwarded after a few minutes about ten years later, I was completely lost as to which man (there were two that looked the same to me) was her father and which was her uncle! As the movie progressed, I grew tired of the grandfather's lousy, mean behavior towards his granddaughter, and his moping. I don't understand how he became so upset when he saw the whale on the beach, yet seemed to have a cold heart of stone when it came to people around him who loved him very much! I really wish that the grandmother would have divorced him during the film, like she kept telling the little girl she would. I think that there should have been more character development for the grandfather's role, because that could have made it more intriguing, and given the audience some insight into his mind. I also wish that the little girl would have had a best friend, or someone she could have stuck with throughout the film, because everyone seemed to be so against her that I wanted to just jump in and hug her! Overall, this film is interesting because of the Maori culture aspect, but I would not recommend it, or watch it again. My favorite thing about this film to be completely honest was their accents.
Python Hyena
Whale Rider (2002): Dir: Niki Caro / Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa: Powerful film about triumph and identity as a twelve year old girl overcomes great odds for acceptance. It stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as a twin whose brother was stillborn and whose mother died during childbirth. Her father was to be the next chief but he left leaving her to be raised by her strict grandfather. Surprising and detailed film with a triumphant ending. Director Niki Caro gives wonderful shots of whales, which figure in a symbolic way. He is also aided by a promising lead performance. Castle-Hughes is wonderful in her quest who please her grandfather and willing to learn the art of being a male to do so. Rawiri Paratene is excellent as her grandfather who cannot accept the fact that a girl is next up for chief. The fact that he will accept her in the end is pretty obvious, and somewhat corny. Vicky Haughton plays his wife who nurtures Castle-Hughes. Cliff Curtis plays her venturous father who will return to face his father's strict lifestyle and witness his daughter's victorious turn of events. Finally we have Grant Roa as an uncle just to throw the whole family theme full circle. The whales are extraordinary in their ever massive glory. It is a superb film that regards the old fable where the least likely becomes the factor that rides highest. Score: 9 / 10
