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Whale Rider Details

2002 Certificate PG
  • 70
  • from 15,492 members

New Zealand's Maori culture is the focus of WHALE RIDER, the powerful coming-of-age tale of Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a 13-year-old girl who feels destined to become leader and chief to her tribe although that role has always been reserved for males. In part, the role is her birthright, as her twin brother died in .. Read more

Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis
Director Niki Caro
Genres Drama, Family, World Cinema

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Whale Rider

New Zealand's Maori culture is the focus of WHALE RIDER, the powerful coming-of-age tale of Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a 13-year-old girl who feels destined to become leader and chief to her tribe although that role has always been reserved for males. In part, the role is her birthright, as her twin brother died in childbirth, and she survived. However, her grandfather, Koro (Rawiri Paratene), who is the current chief, stands firmly in the way of Pai's dream. He is extremely traditional and is superstitious that even Pai's curiosity in learning to be chief could upset the ancestors (who are the whales themselves). Pai's grandmother, Flowers (Vicky Haughton), defies Koro to support Pai, and her uncle, Rawiri (Grant Roa), trains her in the chants and battle techniques she needs. The rest is intuition, and Pai has loads of it--enough to communicate with the ancestors, and call them to her for help and guidance.
Weaving family life, cultural tradition, and an ancient myth into a contemporary story, WHALE RIDER is a tender tale. As Pai, first-time actress Castle-Hughes is a small but impressive warrior, perfectly balancing kid naivety with adult bravery. The traditional costumes, language, chants, and personality of the Maori people come through well, while the tale is clearly a modern fiction, based on a novel by Witi Ihimaera. Beautiful and dramatic New Zealand landscapes and dreamy underwater whale photography cement the formula of the film and add to its magic.

Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa
Director Niki Caro
Studio ICON
Run time DVD: 1 hr 37 mins
Certificate Certificate PG
Collections Sick Of Soccer
Genres Drama, Family, World Cinema
Language DVD: English, Maori
Hearing-impaired English
Subtitles DVD: English
Released Production year: 2002

To Rent:
DVD: 19 Jan 2004

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Rating breakdown

15,492 Member ratings
  • 100
2,177
  • 90
1,840
  • 80
3,194
  • 70
2,607
  • 60
2,225
  • 50
1,348
  • 40
840
  • 30
584
  • 20
453
  • 10
224

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    • Whale Rider

    • Whale Rider
      New Zealand's Maori culture is the focus of WHALE RIDER, the powerful coming-of-age tale of Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a 13-year-old girl who feels destined to become leader and chief to her tribe although that role has always been reserved for males. In part, the role is her birthright, as her ...

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