Movie Review: Whale Rider
Whale Rider (2002) http://imdb.com/title/tt0298228/
Not a movie that I would have normally picked up since I had a completely wrong idea as to what it was about. One of my co-workers pretty much forced it on me even though I told him I had several movies lined up to watch ahead of it and I wouldn't be able to return it for a month.
I thought it would be the usual ultra sappy coming of age story with some PC multi-cultural trappings. Granted the central idea that girls are as good as boys fits the PC crowd's expectations but it really doesn't come across that way at all.
The plot is simple but the personal interactions between the characters are complex.. Koro, the local chief, was expecting that his oldest son's first born child would be the one to lead them. His oldest son, Porourangi is an artist with no interest in leading anybody. His second son, Rawiri showed early promise but is a stoner. His hopes are dashed when Porourangi's wife dies giving birth to twins and the boy dies leaving him with a granddaughter instead of his hoped for heir. His son angers him by naming her Paikea after their first (male) ancestor. The movie deals with him trying to force things to fit his view of the world and salvage his hopes.
The situation reminds me of the central theme in Things Fall Apart but without the nihilism. Instead, despite the fact that the movie doesn't sugar coat things like the drug use in the community and the way that absent fathers are more the norm than the exception it is very life affirming. Things change and if you try to hold on to the old ways too hard things fall apart for you but the new generation will always be there to put them back together again with new ideas.
My favorite character is Koro's wife who is just called Nanny. She is the real power in charge of the household no matter what she lets Koro think and she is the one who really helps Pai come into her own.
Not a movie that I would have normally picked up since I had a completely wrong idea as to what it was about. One of my co-workers pretty much forced it on me even though I told him I had several movies lined up to watch ahead of it and I wouldn't be able to return it for a month.
I thought it would be the usual ultra sappy coming of age story with some PC multi-cultural trappings. Granted the central idea that girls are as good as boys fits the PC crowd's expectations but it really doesn't come across that way at all.
The plot is simple but the personal interactions between the characters are complex.. Koro, the local chief, was expecting that his oldest son's first born child would be the one to lead them. His oldest son, Porourangi is an artist with no interest in leading anybody. His second son, Rawiri showed early promise but is a stoner. His hopes are dashed when Porourangi's wife dies giving birth to twins and the boy dies leaving him with a granddaughter instead of his hoped for heir. His son angers him by naming her Paikea after their first (male) ancestor. The movie deals with him trying to force things to fit his view of the world and salvage his hopes.
The situation reminds me of the central theme in Things Fall Apart but without the nihilism. Instead, despite the fact that the movie doesn't sugar coat things like the drug use in the community and the way that absent fathers are more the norm than the exception it is very life affirming. Things change and if you try to hold on to the old ways too hard things fall apart for you but the new generation will always be there to put them back together again with new ideas.
My favorite character is Koro's wife who is just called Nanny. She is the real power in charge of the household no matter what she lets Koro think and she is the one who really helps Pai come into her own.
posted by Ranuel | 12:56 PM
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