Saturday, October 17, 2009

Movie Review: Whale Rider


Whale Rider was a beautiful story filmed in New Zealand of a young Maori girl, Pai, who is the only living child of the chief's son. She is a direct descendant of Paikea, who rode atop a whale from Hawaika, the mythical homeland. However, as a girl, she cannot inherit tribal leadership. Throughout the movie, she attempts to win the approval and acceptance of her grandfather, who had wished for a boy child.

The story is a glimpse into Maori culture, showing some of the spiritual beliefs, culture, dance, and music. Although not a children's movie, it is definitely family friendly. So get your kids, or your friends and their kids, and sit down to watch this touching movie with a big bowl of popcorn. There's lots to talk about afterwards: what traditions do we follow, can we expand to include loved ones of other traditions, does tradition ever change and evolve? Then watch this video of the fierce Maori Haka ("fiery words").



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4 Comments:

At 8:20 AM, Blogger o2bhiking said...

I really enjoyed this move, Anne. It was a wonderful story, and the girl did an amazing acting job, just amazing. Art

 
At 12:30 PM, Blogger Anne said...

Hi Art, yes, it was a beautiful movie, her speech to her grandfather was very emotional...

 
At 8:16 PM, Blogger o2bhiking said...

At the school? Oh, I actually teared up during that!

 
At 11:15 AM, Blogger Nikhil said...

Ya, i thought this was a great movie as well. very touching, in some ways...

 

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