WHALE RIDER (****)
A mother gives birth to twins and dies with one of them, a son. The surviving double is a girl who happens to descend from a long line of chieftains. Her tribe, the Maori, has always looked forward to first newborn male who is destined to lead them to prosperity, even in their present day New Zealand. The husband is forlorn after his wife and son’s passing, and becomes incensed after his father can only ask him, “Where is he?” without a hint of consolation.
This lead-in sets the stage for WHALE RIDER, a movie of such solemn thoughtfulness, considerable intelligence, remarkable craftsmanship, and lyrical exposition. It won the audience awards at both the Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals and has been lingering for months in the top 10 box-office in many South-Pacific countries, including Australia and New Zealand (its point of origin). In the US it got some of the best reviews of the year.
The movie tells the story of young girl named Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), the surviving twin. She grows up in a small town in New Zealand and is raised by her two loving grandparents Koro (Rawiri Paratene) and Nanny Flowers (Vicky Haughton). Her father Porourangi (Cliff Curtis) could have been chief of his people, but had no interest in doing so. He chose the life of the artist, living in Europe to exhibit his work much to the chagrin of his father. Pai believes that she could serve as their leader but is discouraged ardently by her grandfather because she is a girl. In doing so she lives in anguish, and at one point considers an offer from her father to leave their town to live with him.
Upon reading this synopsis, it would be easy to dismiss this picture as an overly familiar family film that would be playing on the Hallmark Network (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It is easy to predict what might happen next, how Pai will be able to convince her grandfather that she is “the one.” But the film’s brilliance lies in its ability to circumvent all of the usual plot developments its contemporaries may have. This is not a film that panders to Hollywood formula. Spend enough money on a story like this, and you might end up with The Lizzie McGuire Story movie. But it becomes evident that its director Niki Caro has infinitely more in mind for her little protagonist. After seeing this movie, many other teenage and child pictures you have seen will seem shallow and empty.
One aspect that makes the film stand out is its deep understanding of every character involved. No character is one-dimensional or seems plot-required. We get to live with (and eventually love) most if not all of these individuals, and so we care about what they do. We understand why Porourangi wants to leave his town and purse his future elsewhere. We do not dismiss Koro’s long held beliefs and traditions, because we discover the depth and importance of their meaning. We can grasp why Nanny loves Pai’s conviction, and at the same time, why she puts up with Koro whom she loves just as much. And most of all, we come to identify with and admire Pai because of her personal strength which is remarkable for a child of her age. We yearn to nurture that quality and to try and convince Koro that he is missing something integral to his people’s prosperity through her.
Another estimable facet the movie also possesses is the way it pierces the very culture of the Maori. For a first-time director, Niki Caro conveys a deep veneration for the their community. She also wrote the film’s story (based on a novel of the same name written by Witi Ihimaera), which captures the ebb and flow of their daily life. We see and feel the hard times that have hit Pai’s village. How a better life seems to beckon them elsewhere causing a longing for a new generation of Maori to leave behind long-standing tradition. It reminded me how the new generation of Igorot is flocking to the cities, not wanting to maintain the wondrous rice terraces we consider a national treasure. It doesn’t become hard to understand what drives Koro’s obsession for a new male chieftain. His love for his people blinds him to what is before him.
Ms. Caro along with her cinematography team also captures an astonishing natural beauty that is almost mystical. It has a mysterious yet luminous quality that reminded me of The Piano and Oscar and Lucinda. She doesn’t just overwhelm the audience with majestic vistas, she entices us with the calm power of the town’s panoramas. Underwater depths, Mountainous seascapes, and natural greenery that is integrated with Maori life, has never seemed more alluring and mythic at the same time.
This must be said of Keisha Castle-Hughes. In this, her first feature-film, she can already be considered a great actress (at only 13!). She has the look of fresh-faced waif that expresses innocence and serenity that few can match. As Elvis Mitchell of the New York Times correctly observed, she has few resources to draw upon compared to other actresses, but she compensates for it with an astute use of hesitation. She also has an uncanny control of her emotions that reminded me of Robert De Niro. She has one scene in where she recites a heartfelt speech for her grandfather Koro, who refuses to attend it. The way she cries and chokes on her tears, while maintaining her dignity and composure as her words part from her lips is one of the most skillful heart-rending scenes I have ever seen. It left many in the theater in tears as well. I would be greatly disappointed if she weren’t nominated for an Academy Award.
I have read a handful of reviews reducing WHALE RIDER to mere feminist propaganda played at a mournful pace. I cannot understand why such cynicism could be directed at such a work of love. The way it details the Maori, their concerns, their traditions, and their customs, makes us appreciate them in a way that makes them more beautiful than any group of supermodels could ever seem. It has a moving and inspirational ending that borders on myth and mysticism, but it earns the right to depict it because of the way it loves its characters. It teaches children that one does not have to live up to what other people believe they should be, but what they themselves believe. All through a young girl who has more self-esteem, poise, and character, than any other adolescent I have seen in a long time. This is one of the year’s best films.
Note: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, strongly recommended Whale Rider as one of the best family movies of the year and criticized the MPAA (the US ratings board) for retracting his comments from its film distributors. The board claimed that his remarks could be interpreted as marketing to children, which is prohibited for PG-13 films. After viewing it for the first time, its PG-13 rating is ridiculous. Rarely are films about the coming-of-age of young adolescents and children are this mature and involving. Cinema ratings boards worldwide should have no problem categorizing a film like this for all ages.
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at August 29, 2003 12:16 PM