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Her grandfather Koro Apirana believes that this is a role reserved for males only. The film was a coproduction between New Zealand and Germany. It was shot on location in Whangarathe setting of The Whale Rider novel. The film received critical acclaim upon its release. The film's plot follows the story of Paikea Apirana "Pai". The village leader should be the first-born son, a direct patrilineal descendant of Paikeathe Whale Rider, he who rode on top of a whale Tohora from Hawaiki. Pai is originally born a twin, but her The Whale Rider brother and her mother died during childbirth. Pai is female and so technically cannot inherit the leadership. While her grandfather, Koro, later forms an affectionate bond with his granddaughter, carrying her to school every day on his bicycle, he also condemns her and blames her for conflicts happening within the tribe. After the death The Whale Rider his wife and despite overwhelming pressure from Koro, Pai's father refuses to assume traditional leadership or finish the waka canoe that he had started building for the baby The Whale Rider instead, he moves to Germany to pursue a career as an artist. At one point, Paikea decides to live with her father because her grandfather says he The Whale Rider not want her. However, as they are driving away, she finds that she cannot bear to leave the sea as the whale seems to The Whale Rider calling her back. Pai tells her father to return her home. Koro leads a cultural school for the village's The Whale Rider boys, hoping to find a new leader. He teaches the The Whale Rider to use a taiaha fighting stickwhich is traditionally reserved for males. Pai is interested in the lessons, but is discouraged and scolded by Koro for doing so. Pai feels that she can become the leader The Whale Rider no woman has ever done so and is The Whale Rider to succeed. Her grandmother, Nanny, tells Pai that her second son, Pai's uncle, had won a taiaha tournament in his youth while he was still slim and so Pai secretly learns from him. She also secretly follows Koro's lessons. One of the students, Hemi, is also sympathetic towards her. Koro is enraged when he finds out, particularly when she wins a taiaha fight against Hemi. Koro is devastated when none of The Whale Rider boys succeeds at the traditional task of recovering the rei puta whale tooth that he threw into the ocean, the mission that would prove one of them worthy of becoming leader. With the loss of the rei puta, Koro in despair calls out the ancient ones, the whales. In an attempt to help, Pai also calls out to them and they hear her call. One day Pai, her uncle, her uncle's girl friend Shilo, and others take the boat to where Koro flung the rei puta into the sea. Pai confidently declares she'll find it and dives into the water. She finds the rei puta, which means that she is the rightful leader. Nanny does not think Koro is ready to accept this and does not tell him. Unknown to all, she had won an interschool speech contest with a touching dedication to Koro and the traditions of the village. However, Koro was late, and as he was walking to the school, he notices that numerous southern right whales are beached near Pai's home. The entire village attempts to coax and drag them back into the water, but all efforts prove unsuccessful, and even a tractor does not help. Koro sees that as a sign of his failure and despairs further. He admonishes Pai against touching the largest whale because she has "done enough" damage with her presumption. Also, the largest whale traditionally belongs to the legendary The Whale Rider. When Koro walks away, Pai climbs onto the back of the largest whale at the location and coaxes it The Whale Rider re-enter the ocean. The whale leads the entire pod back into the sea; Pai submerges completely underwater, and the spectators wonder if she has drowned but are relieved when she comes back above The Whale Rider level. Nanny shows Koro the whale tooth which Pai had previously recovered. When Pai is found and brought The Whale Rider the hospital, Koro declares her the leader and asks for her forgiveness. The film ends with Pai's father, grandparents, and uncle coming together to celebrate her status as the new leader, as the finished waka is hauled into the sea for its The Whale Rider voyage. In voiceover, Pai declares, "My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider. I'm not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of our strength. Castle-Hughes impressed Caro in the resulting workshop and was cast as Pai. There are very physical things that are described in the book — the sweep of the bay, the island that looks like a whale, the meeting houses, the number of houses that are present and of course, the people whose legend we were telling. The waka was given to the Whangara community after filming concluded. The film received critical acclaim and Castle-Hughes's performance won rave reviews. Pomeranz said "Niki Caro has directed this uplifting story with great sensitivity, eliciting affecting performances from a sterling cast, and a wonderful one from newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes. The film has also been discussed, and praised, widely within academia. Anthropologist A. At the age of 13, Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, becoming the youngest actress ever nominated for the award at that time breaking Isabelle Adjani 's record at the age of Chicago Film Critics Association :. Independent Spirit Awards :. New Zealand Film Awards :. Washington D. Area Film Critics Association :. The film contains music by Lisa Gerrardreleased on the album Whalerider on 7 July From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Theatrical release poster. Release date. Running time. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 15 January New Zealand Film Commission. The Whale Rider from the original on 2 June Retrieved 5 July South Pacific Pictures. Archived from the original on 3 June Archived from the original on 26 May Retrieved 23 January Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 6 June Retrieved 4 July The Movie Show. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 11 April Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 7 July Retrieved 30 January Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 May USA Today. Archived from the original on 13 October New Zealand portal Film portal. Awards for Whale Rider. Films directed by Niki Caro. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera. Wikiquote has quotations related to: Whale Rider. Whale Rider movie review & film summary () | Roger Ebert It won the audience awards as the most popular film at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals, played to standing ovations, left audiences in tears. I recite these facts right at the top of this review because I fear you might make a hasty judgment that you don't want to see a movie about a year- old Maori girl who dreams of becoming the chief of her people. Sounds too ethnic, uplifting and feminist, right? The genius of the movie is the way is sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving. There is a vast difference between movies for year-old girls, The Whale Rider movies about year-old girls, and "Whale Rider" proves it. The movie, which takes place in the present The Whale Rider in New Zealand, begins with the birth of twins. The boy and the mother die. The girl, Pai Keisha Castle-Hughes survives. Her father, Porourangi Cliff Curtisan artist, leaves New Zealand, and the little girl is raised and much loved by her grandparents Koro and Nanny Flowers. Koro is the chief of these people. Porourangi would The Whale Rider next in line but has no interest in returning home. Pai believes that she could serve as the chief, but her grandfather, despite his love, fiercely opposes this idea. He causes Pai much hurt by doubting her, questioning her achievements, insisting in the face of everything she achieves that she is only a girl. The movie, written and directed by Niki Caroinspired by a novel by Witi Ihimaeradescribes these events within the rhythms of daily life. This is not a simplistic fable but the story of real people living in The Whale Rider times. There are moments The Whale Rider Pai is lost in discouragement and despair, and when her father comes for a visit The Whale Rider almost leaves with him. But, The Whale Rider, her people need her--whether or The Whale Rider her grandfather realizes it. Pai is played by Keisha Castle-Hughes, a newcomer of whom it can only be said: This is a movie star. She glows. She stands up to her The Whale Rider in painful scenes, she finds dignity, and yet the next second she's running around the village like the kid she is. The other roles are also strongly cast, especially Rawiri Paratene and Vicky Haughton as the grandparents. One day Koro summons all of the young teenage boys of the village to a series of compulsory lessons on how to be a Maori, and the leader of Maoris. There's an amusing sequence where they practice looking ferocious to scare their enemies. Pai, of course, is banned from these classes, but she eavesdrops The Whale Rider enlists a wayward uncle to reveal some of the The Whale Rider of the males. And then--well, the movie does not end as we expect. It The Whale Rider not march obediently to standard plot requirements but develops an unexpected crisis and an unexpected solution. There is a scene The Whale Rider at a school ceremony, where Pai has composed a work in honor of her people and asked her grandfather to attend. Despite his anger, he will come, won't he? The movie seems headed for the ancient cliche of the auditorium door which opens at the last moment to reveal the person that the child onstage desperately hopes to see--but no, that's not what happens. It isn't that Koro comes or that he doesn't come, but that something else altogether happens. The Whale Rider in a larger and more significant scale, that brings together all of the themes of the film into a magnificent final sequence. It's not just an uplifting ending, but a transcendent one, inspired and inspiring, and we realize how special this movie really is. So many films by and about teenagers are mired in vulgarity and stupidity; this one, like its heroine, dares to dream. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun- Times from until his death in Inhe won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Cliff Curtis as Porourangi. Vicky Haughton as Nanny Flowers. Keisha Castle-Hughes as Pai. Rachel House as Shilo. Grant Roa as Rawiri. Rawiri Paratene as Koro. Mana Taumaunu as Hemi. Reviews Whale Rider. Roger Ebert June 20, Now streaming on:. Powered by JustWatch. Now playing. Martin Eden Odie Henderson. Small Axe: Mangrove Odie Henderson. The Nest Matt Zoller Seitz. Charm City Kings Brian Tallerico. On the Rocks Scout Tafoya. Hubie Halloween Brian Tallerico. Film Credits. Latest blog posts. Urban Dictionary: The Whale Rider

The story begins with a focus on the ancient days, when nature and all wildlife were excitedly waiting for the coming of man. Then man arrived from the east, and the relationship between nature and man throve. The focus shifts to a herd of whales. The whale mothers look over their young while the single leader whale—the bull whale—reminisces about his own youth so long ago, and the precious time he spent with the whale rider. Now, so many years after their separation, the nostalgia for their time spent together cuts away at the old bull whale. But then the story shifts The Whale Rider Kahu. The narrator of this time period The Whale Rider Rawiriher uncle. When she is born, her great-grandfather expresses great disdain that she is a girl. He is looking for a suitable successor, which according to local culture ought to be passed from eldest child to The Whale Rider child. Thus out of disdain for the girl, Koro refuses to show any love towards her and even refuses to conduct the traditional burial of the birth cord. Part I begins by refocusing on the herd of whales. The bull whale leads his herd away from their most-feared predator: mankind. The old whale remembers the days when man and animal were united and in communication, but those are long past. However, he is unable to let go, and thoughts of returning to the place of his youth at whatever cost gnaw at his heart. A few years pass in this way. Koro decides to begin a language school to teach the future generations the threatened Maori language, and he also beings culture classes for similar purposes. Kahu returns to Whangara several times when she is able. Each time she comes she expresses love for her family there, but special deep love for The Whale Rider her great-grandfather. This love remains unreciprocated, as Koro actively pushes her away. He remains dedicated in his mission to find a suitable successor, and he is doing all he can as leader of the Whangara Maori community to preserve the Maori culture for future generations in a time of spreading modernity. Part II begins with another short focus on the whale herd. They head towards a sea trench that used to provide them bounty and shelter but they find there an inhospitable and radioactive place. They are forced to travel to other havens as this long-time home for them has become too inhospitable to live in. He travels to Sydney, Australia, where he meets several of his cousins and notes that they seem to have drifted away from Maori cultural traditions and have fully embraced the lifestyle The Whale Rider the big city. There, he The Whale Rider Jeff and the two become fast friends. Rawiri thus spends two years in that country with Jeff; they attempt to cultivate The Whale Rider land. Back home, Rawiri notes that Koro has become even more obsessed in his mission of finding a male successor. The old man feels himself to be under increasing pressure to teach and preserve the cultural knowledge that he and so few others currently possess. As for Kahu, she has returned to stay with her father longer-term. This only upsets Koro more, as he was hoping for a male descendent. Kahu does not mind all this anger from Koro though, The Whale Rider she continues to fervently seek his love and acceptance. Towards The Whale Rider end of the year, Kahu invites her family to a The Whale Rider ceremony that will include cultural presentations. Kahu herself plays a prominent role in the ceremony. She leads a group of young girls in a traditional dance and also recites a speech she wrote in the Maori tongue. Her speech expresses her utmost desire to please her great-grandfather and to uphold the Maori culture. However, the great tragedy of the event is that Koro never shows up. This brings Kahu to tears. This part concludes with another momentous event. One day, Koro takes some of his star pupils out to sea. He drops a rock in the sea and once it has sunk to the depths, he tells the boys they must retrieve it as a test of their endurance and strength and ability to lead. Despite their best efforts, they are not able to do so and Koro returns dejected. The Whale Rider home he cracks under all the pressure and weeps. Later on, Kahu goes out to sea with Nanny and Rawiri, and when they reach the spot above the stone, Kahu dives into the sea and retrieves the stone. She does so by doing what Nanny and Rawiri find extremely amazing: Kahu appears to communicate with dolphins and other sea creatures, and through their aid she is able to retrieve the stone. Part 3 begins, The Whale Rider usual, by focusing on the whale herd. The bull whale is leading his herd through the frozen waters of Antarctica. A collapsing of the ice there and the life-threatening nature of this collapse forces him to make a snap decision in guiding his herd. He chooses to take The Whale Rider down the paths leading back to the seas of his youth, a decision that causes dismay among the elder mothers because they know his nostalgia for the past is clouding his present judgment. But he leads them on anyway to what they know will be their final journey. Back in Whangara, big events soon take place. All the whales of a herd come The Whale Rider to the beach and strand themselves there. They will soon die if they are not pushed back to sea. While some humans take advantage of these whales to harvest their meat and organs, most of the locals of Whangara attempt to The Whale Rider a rescue attempt and deliver the whales back to sea. Rawiri and his biker gang work with the police and rangers to keep whale butchers fro coming near the whales, while The Whale Rider navy is called in to attempt to pull the whales back out to sea. Ultimately, all the dedicated efforts of Rawiri, his friends, Nanny, and all the other locals fail and all of the whales perish on the beach. When Koro The Whale Rider from a trip he had been on during the ordeal, he remarks with great anguish that this is a sign for them. The next evening an even bigger event occurs, this time witnessed not by everyone but just by the small Maori community within the town. During the night, Rawiri, Koro, Kahu and Nanny hear a booming sound coming from the sea, as if a great door has just opened, and then they witness a large group of huge whales emerge from the bottom of the sea. At their head is a great bull whale with an ancient sacred Maori tattoo. The bull whale pulls itself onto shore and strands itself there, waiting for its death. Koro recognizes in this event a spiritual warning to him and his people; their test is to return this ancient whale back to sea because they are so connected to this supernatural whale herd that if it lives they The Whale Rider and f it The Whale Rider they die. Koro calls a meeting of The Whale Rider local Maori people and impresses upon them the spiritual significance of this event. Their way The Whale Rider life is being put to the test: they can either save the whale or fail and fall into ruin. They organize all available vehicles and manpower down on the beach and attempt all sorts of measures to get the bull whale back to sea, but the giant creature stubbornly resists and continues to wait for itself to die on the shore. In desperation, Kahu swims out to the whale and climbs up its back after communicating with it. Overjoyed, the whale returns to sea and it descends back into the water with the rest of the herd and Kahu in tow. Kahu agrees to come with the herd in the hopes that she will thus save them and save her own people. She thinks that this will be the last time she will ever see her home and family and that accompanying the herd means losing all that she holds dear, but she sacrifices herself nonetheless and chooses to remain as the whale rider. His anguish is The Whale Rider doubled as he must accept that he has been so harsh to the very person he needed so badly this whole time. The epilogue narrates that the oldest mother whale notices Kahu and realizes that her husband, the bull whale, has mistaken this The Whale Rider girl for her ancestor. The bull whale eventually agrees and they return Kahu, now unconscious, to Whangara. When found by humans, Kahu is brought to the hospital to recover and there she is near to Nanny, who collapsed in shock after her dear great- granddaughter left with the whale her Three days have passed since then and Koro and Rawiri have been taking care of the two of them. When The Whale Rider awakens, Koro admits to her that this is entirely his fault, and that he The Whale Rider been stubborn and blind in the matter of Kahu. Later when Kahu also awakens, he tells her for the first time that he loves her. Then the story ends with Kahu telling her dear great-grandfather that she can still hear the singing of the whales. Which was the promise that Koro made to Tangaroa, the king of the sea? I think this site is a good resource. If you have trouble, we can help you understand things better. Just copying the answer and using it as your own isn't a good thing. Why have the Maori people lost their connection to the sea? In the Part II, the author develops the conflict between man and nature. While in the previous section it seemed like nature was awaiting man, and that man was to fulfill nature now it seems that over time the dynamic has shifted. The author The Whale Rider study guide contains a biography of author Witi Ihimaera, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The Whale Rider essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by The Whale Rider and provide critical analysis of The Whale The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera. Remember me. Forgot your password? Buy Study Guide. What chapter are you The Whale Rider to? Study Guide for The Whale Rider The Whale Rider study guide contains a biography of author Witi Ihimaera, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.