Review of Whale Rider (2003) by Stephanie V — 06 Sep 2008

The Whale Rider is about a Maori girl named Pai Apirana. The movie takes place in a rural New Zealand town where Pai lives with her grandparents. When Pai was born her mother died and so did her twin brother. This was not a good situation because her grandfather, Koro, who is the current chief and leader, was looking forward to having a male son being the future leader of their people since Porourangi, Pai?s father, did not want to take the role of being chief. Porourangi had different aspirations and left town to pursue his own dreams, but would still come back every now and then to see Pai. Meanwhile, no one wanted to pay any attention to the fact that Pai could possible make an excellent leader to the Maori people. Everyone was expecting a boy, but in this movie Pai does not give up in trying to prove that she could have, some day, been able to lead her people, although she was not a male.

This movie provides information of not onlyt a touching story of a girl named Pai, but it brings you into a world you may not be familiar with. You get a glimpse of how people through out the world deal with situations that they do not have complete control over. Keisha Castle-Hughes, the actess who portrayed Pai, did a wonderful job in bringing out the innocence and determination to people who had no trust and confidence in a female to lead their people. As I watched this movie, as a woman, I felt as though anything is possible as long as you believe in your self and believe that what you are doing will help you in the long run as well as others to find some kind of peace. I recommend this movie to anyone of any age, especially people who are interested in different cultures.