Whale Rider

Drama, Family

Keisha Castle-Hughes	Paikea Apirana
Rawiri Paratene	Koro
Vicky Haughton	Nanny Flowers
Cliff Curtis	Porourangi
Grant Roa	Uncle Rawiri
Mana Taumaunu	Hemi
Rachel House	Shilo
Taungaroa Emile	Willie
Tammy Davis	Dog
Mabel Wharekawa	Maka

Director	Niki Caro
Producer	John Barnett; Frank Hubner; Tim Sanders
Writer	Niki Caro; Sir Witi Ihimaera; Witi Ihimaera

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