June (Web-only) 2003 Commentaries Movies & TV

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Whale Rider begins with a sense of expectation. A prophecy is going to be fulfilled. A hero will rise. But this epic about New Zealand's Maori traditions features something different than a muscle-bound, sword-wielding warrior. Director Niki Caro's contemporary myth chronicles the heroics of a 12-year-old girl with a gift for leadership.

What sets Whale Rider apart from other Young Hero epics is how it portrays its young female protagonist. Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is just a kid, but she is intelligent, deeply emotional, and impressively brave. By the end of the film, she has humbled the willful grownups around her and won the audience's hearts.

Her story plays out against the backdrop of a New Zealand costal community. Koro (Rawiri Paratene), the leader of the Ngati Konohi tribe, has given up on passing leadership to his sons. One is fat and lazy, the other abandoned the tribe to be an artist in Germany. So Koro wants a young man who will embrace the tribe's traditions.

Since the tribe only looks to men for leadership, Koro grows angry when Pai herself starts showing all the signs of the traditional "crown prince." He refuses to consider her as an alternative. It is up to his wife, Nanny Flowers (Vicki Haughton), a wiser, gentler sort of leader, to cultivate Pai's virtues behind Koro's back until the time is right for her to claim her place in the tribal history.

Some of the credit goes to Caro for directing such an enchanting adaptation of New Zealand writer Witi Ihimaera's novel. Lisa Gerrard should also be commended for providing music that suits the story's mystical qualities.

But a good deal of credit also goes to Keisha Castle-Hughes, the astonishing young actress who brings to life Pai's sufferings and triumphs. She ...