Movie 2006.03.23 - Whale Rider

A beautiful uplifting movie about a young girl trying to fulfill her destiny against her stubborn grandfather's wishes. Legend has it that the Whangara people originated from a single ancestor called Paikea, who arrived on the shores of New Zealand riding the back of whale. Since then, the village chief has traditionally been the male first-born. It's unfortunate that when Pai was born, her twin brother died along with her mother. Understandably, her grandfather Koro was none too happy. He still loves her though, taking care of her when her father left for Germany. Left without a successor, Koro decides open a cultural school to train all the male children of the village the traditions, songs, and fighting skills of the Maori people. He never thought of Pai as a candidate, and even forbade her from joining the training. This just breaks her heart because deep inside she knows it's her destiny to be the next chief.

During the annual school program, she delivers a heart-wrenching speech dedicated to her Koro, who didn't even show up. That one scene is the best in the whole film, as she tries to express her love and frustrations through song and speech, all the while choking back the tears and trying not to break down. Just for that performance alone, Keisha Castle-Hughes should've won the Oscar. (Trivia: In 2004, at 13, she was the youngest actress to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy award.)

Turns out that Koro originally planned to go to the school, but along the way, he noticed several whales who beached themselves. The whole village came out to help, but the whales seems determined to die. He didn't put it to words, but he blames Pai for the disaster, as she had upset the natural state of things. Pai also knows it's her fault because she did "call out" to the whales during the time when she felt so down and alone. When no one was looking, she approached one of the whales and started whispering to it. She got on top of the whale using the barnacles as steps. Slowly, the whale started turning around and later the other whales followed. By the time the villagers noticed this, they were out to sea already. The head whale was skimming the water's surface as Pai held on. Further out they went, but Pai was not afraid. She knew what she had to do. Slowly the whales dived into the water, and Pai sinks to a certain death. That's another Oscar moment for you.

Ok, spoiler warning! Koro felt so bad, but there's nothing more he could do. Worse, his wife handed him the carved whale's tooth that he dropped into the sea. It was the final test for his apprentices; he who retrieves the whale's tooth from the depths of the sea is to be the next Whangara chief. Unfortunately, all of them came back empty-handed. Unknown to Koro, Pai went down and came back with the item, plus a tasty lobster. Now, Koro knows that his granddaughter is meant to be chief, but he's just too stubborn to recognize the fact. The movie has a happy ending though. They managed to rescue Pai from the sea. After a few days at the hospital, she's back to normal, and went on to lead her Maori tribe.