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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Whale Rider School is over for the summer, or almost. Your kids have already seen Finding Nemo, and you're not sure they're ready for the violence of The Hulk or the sexuality of Charlie's Angels 2. You know _you're_ not ready for yet another Rugrats movie. So, are there any family-friendly movies out right now that are actually friendly for the whole family? Indeed there are, though you'll have to find an art theater to see it. Fortunately, the trip is worth the effort. Whale Rider is a marvelous adventure tale set in New Zealand. Pai is a twelve-year-old Maori girl living in a coastal village. Though the Maori (New Zealand's indigenous people) have a rich tribal tradition, modernity has set in and few of the people respect the old ways. They're happy to attend their children's dance recital, as we see in the movie's second scene, but any talk of a chief seems old-fashioned. Pai's father, who's in line to be in chief, actually heads to Europe to become an artist, leaving Pai with her grandfather Koro. For Koro, though, the appeal of tradition is strong, and he sees the installation of a new chief as critical to reversing the tribe's fortunes. He and some of the other elders decide to set up a school for the village's boys, with the hope of raising up a leader. As you might imagine, the school's only for the boys, but don't tell Pai that. In a striking scene, she tries to join them on the first day, and a stare-down with her grandfather ensues. Though Koro has always had great love for his granddaughter, he also subtly resents her, for it was her twin brother who was supposed to be chief. Unfortunately, he died at birth. Seeing Pai trying to assume her unrightful place brings up a whole host of issues. Though banished from the school, Pai doesn't back down lightly. She eavesdrops, peeks in through the window, and does her best to imitate the martial arts exercises. Her uncle, who loafs around much of the day, is inspired to help her practice, out of the watching eye of her grandfather, a process that transforms the uncle as well. Though the story is a somewhat
predictable one--the last half hour feels like it was written using a formula--the
acting is so good you probably won't notice. Keisha Castle-Hughes is fantastic
as the young girl. She provides more evidence for my pet theory that non-professional
child actors are far better than their professional counterparts. Rawiri
Paratene brings a wonderful strength to the part of Koro. We believe both
his love for his granddaughter and his discomfort with her obstinance.
Their scenes together
Director and writer Niki Caro brings a smooth touch to the story of Whale Rider. The movie feels like the sort of movie that wins audience awards at film festivals (it did so in both Toronto and Sundance). It's good enough to be admitted to those festivals, but has broad enough appeal to capture the fancy of everyone. J. Robert Parks 6/21/2003
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