Product Description

There is a legend that Paikea rode on the back of a whale and led his people to New Zealand. Since that time tradition has decreed that the first-born male descendant will become chief of the tribe. Then Pai is born...and she is a girl. She grows up within a close-knit village which retains the tribes traditional spiritual relationship with the sea and their warrior values. Although loved by all, Pai faces rejection from her grandfather, Koro, who is brokenhearted that there is no grandson to carry on the line.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3256 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2003-10-28
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.com
One of the most charming and critically acclaimed films of 2003, the New Zealand hit Whale Rider effectively combines Maori tribal tradition with the timely "girl power" of a vibrant new millennium. Despite the discouragement of her gruff and disapproving grandfather (Rawiri Paratene), who nearly disowns her because she is female and therefore traditionally disqualified from tribal leadership, 12-year-old Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is convinced that she is a tribal leader, and sets about to prove it. Rather than inflate this story (from a novel by Witi Ihimaera) with artificial sentiment, writer-director Niki Caro develops very real and turbulent family relationships, intimate and yet torn by a collision between stubborn tradition and changing attitudes. The mythic whale rider--the ultimate symbol of Maori connection to nature--is also the harbinger of Pai's destiny, and the appealing Castle-Hughes gives a luminous, astonishingly powerful performance that won't leave a dry eye in the house. With its fresh take on a familiar tale, Whale Rider is definitely one from the heart. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The lush landscape of New Zealand is majestically filmed in the writer-director Niki Caro's drama about a young girl (a radiant Keisha Castle-Hughes) who must persuade her Maori tribe that she was born to be their leader. It's an empowerment fable, but done with disarming subtlety. Caro's film avoids the mawkish and saccharine pitfalls of these sorts of stories, winning over the audience instead with a surefooted and inspiring sense of tradition. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Myth and modern realities mixed defty in this lovely tale
Set in a remote Maori village in New Zealand, a chief struggles with the death of his grandson and daughter-in-law. She's given birth to twins, died in childbirth, and the boy twin, first-born son of his first-born son, is dead along with his mother. The girl twin survives, but the grandfather practically blames her birth for the tragedy. Who will succeed him and carry on the traditions that stretch back through time? Now the sacred chain of sons of sons has been broken.

The love-hate relations of the entire family, grandfather, grandmother, sons, granddaughter are heartrending and heart-warming at the same time. The fight to carry on the Maori traditions in the face of losing them in a modern world, and the struggle of a girl to ascend to chiefdom when girls are forbidden to do so makes for a mythical tale.

The young actress who plays Paikea, named for the whale rider who arrived from Hawaaki to found their tribe, is so good, you won't believe this is her debut. Keisha Castle-Hughes is interviewed as an extra feature on this DVD; you will marvel at her brilliance and perception. The footage of whales used plus the models of whales for the most dramatic scene of a whale beaching are astonishingly real.

This is one of the most enjoyable films I saw in 2003 and I recommend it highly.

A moving modern-day NZ fable.
Niki Caro's "Whale Rider" (based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera) is an uplifting tale of tradition and inner strength. Twelve-year-old Pai (talented newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes) lives with her grandparents in a rural New Zealand town. Pai's mother and twin brother died in childbirth, and her artist father took off for Europe, where he now has a new (pregnant) girlfriend. Pai's brother was supposed to be the next chief of her tribe, and with his death Pai's grandfather Koro searches for a new (male) leader, failing to see that it is Pai that possesses the courage and talents of a chieftain.

The movie is filled with a haunting soundtrack by Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard, including samples of traditional Maori music by Hirini Melbourne. The cinematography beautifully captures the many moods of light and shadow on mountains and sea, as well as stock footage of majestic whales. "Whale Rider" is an uplifting tale of love, loss, and courage, about tradition in the face of change, and believing in yourself.

The Whales Will Decide
Maori mythology comes to life in the form of Pai, granddaughter of the tribal chief. Tradition demands the next chief be a grandson, but Pai's twin brother and Mother died during childbirth. Left to live with her Grandparents Pai tries to prove her worthiness to her Grandfather but he insists his successor must be a male.

The Maori claim to be descendants of the legendary Paikea who came to New Zealand riding on the back of a whale. This coastal, fishing community has maintained their close spiritual tie with whales for over a thousand years, their mutual destinies forever linked.

When Koro (Pai's grandfather) decides to gather together all the young males of the tribe and teach them the "old ways" in the hopes of finding the next chief Pai tries to join the group but, is rudely dismissed by Koro. In desperation she cries out to the whales, asking for their assistance in her quest for acceptance.

Now it is up to the whales to decide who's to be the "chosen one." A massive herd answers her plea by grounding themselves on the beach. The whole community unite in an attempt to save these sacred giants, seeing their impending deaths as an apocalyptic omen for the Maori people. All their efforts fail and hope is lost until Pai realizes the moment of truth has finally arrived.

What a beautiful, poetic movie. Keisha Castle-Hughes is brilliant as Pai as is the whole cast. It might be a little slow for younger children, but overall a wonderful experience for a family to watch together. Buy this DVD, you'll come away with something new with each viewing.