''Whale Rider'' is a 2002 New Zealand

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel ''

The Whale Rider ''The Whale Rider'' is a 1987 novel by New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera. In 2002 it was adapted into a film, '' Whale Rider'', directed by Niki Caro. Plot Set in the 1980s in Whangara, a Māori community on the eastern edge of New Zealand's ...

'' by

Witi Ihimaera Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler (; born 7 February 1944) is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Māori people were ignored or mischaracterised in litera ...

, the film stars

Keisha Castle-Hughes Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand actress who rose to prominence for playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana in the film '' Whale Rider''. She was nominated for several awards, including the Academy Award for Bes ...

as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

girl whose ambition is to become the chief of the tribe. Her koro Apirana believes that this is a role reserved for males only. The film was a coproduction between New Zealand and Germany. It was shot on location in Whangara, the setting of the novel. The world premiere was on 9 September 2002, at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

. The film received critical acclaim upon its release. At age 13,

became the youngest nominee for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

before she was surpassed by Quvenzhané Wallis, at age 9, for '' Beasts of the Southern Wild'', in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, less than a decade later. The film earned $41.4 million on a NZ$9,235,000 budget. In 2005, the film was named on the BFI ''List of the 50 Films You Should See By the Age of 14''.

Plot

The film's plot follows the story of Paikea Apirana ("Pai"). The village leader should be the first-born son, a direct

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

descendant of Paikea, the Whale Rider, he who rode on top of a whale (Tohora) from

Hawaiki In Polynesian mythology, (also rendered as in Cook Islands Māori, in Samoan, in Tahitian, in Hawaiian) is the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in many Māori stories. ...

. Pai is originally born a twin, but her twin brother and her mother died during childbirth. Pai is female and so technically cannot inherit the leadership. While her grandfather, Koro, later forms an affectionate bond with his granddaughter, carrying her to school every day on his bicycle, he also condemns her and blames her for conflicts within the tribe. After the death of his wife and despite overwhelming pressure from Koro, Pai's father refuses to assume traditional leadership or finish the waka that he had started building for the baby son; instead, he moves to Germany to pursue a career as an artist. At one point, Paikea decides to live with her father because her grandfather says he doesn't want her. However, as they are driving away, she finds that she cannot bear to leave the sea as the whale seems to be calling her back. Pai tells her father to return her home. Koro leads a cultural school for the village's first-born boys, hoping to find a new leader. He teaches the boys to use a taiaha (

fighting stick Stick-fighting, stickfighting, or stick fighting is a variety of martial arts which use simple long, slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden "sticks" for fighting, such as a gun staff, bō, jō, walking stick, baston, arnis sticks or simila ...

), which is traditionally reserved for males. Pai is interested in the lessons, but is discouraged and scolded by Koro for doing so. Pai feels that she can become the leader (although no woman has ever done so) and is determined to succeed. Her grandmother, Nanny, tells Pai that her second son, Pai's uncle, had won a taiaha tournament in his youth while he was still slim and so Pai secretly learns from him. She also secretly follows Koro's lessons. One of the students, Hemi, is also sympathetic towards her. Koro is enraged when he finds out, particularly when she wins a taiaha fight against Hemi. Koro is devastated when none of the boys succeeds at the traditional task of recovering the rei puta (whale tooth) that he threw into the ocean, the mission that would prove one of them worthy of becoming leader. With the loss of the rei puta, Koro in despair calls out the ancient ones, the whales. In an attempt to help, Pai also calls out to them and they hear her call. One day Pai, her uncle, her uncle's girlfriend Shilo, and others take the boat to where Koro flung the rei puta into the sea. Pai confidently declares she'll find it and dives into the water. She finds the rei puta, which means that she is the rightful leader. Nanny does not think Koro is ready to accept this and does not tell him. Pai, in an attempt to bridge the rift that has formed, invites Koro to be her guest of honour at a concert of Māori chants that her school is putting on. Unknown to all, she had won an interschool speech contest with a touching dedication to Koro and the traditions of the village. However, Koro was late, and as he was walking to the school, he notices that numerous

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

s are beached near Pai's home. The entire village attempts to coax and drag them back into the water, but all efforts prove unsuccessful, and even a tractor does not help. Koro sees that as a sign of his failure and despairs further. He admonishes Pai against touching the largest whale because she has "done enough" damage with her presumption. Also, the largest whale traditionally belongs to the legendary Paikea. When Koro walks away, Pai climbs onto the back of the largest whale on the beach and coaxes it to re-enter the ocean. The whale leads the entire pod back into the sea; Pai submerges completely underwater before being thrown off the whale's back by the tide, and the spectators fear she has drowned. At this point, fearing Pai is lost, Nanny reveals to Koro that his granddaughter found the rei puta, and Koro is stunned into realizing the error of his ways. When Pai is found and brought to the hospital, Koro declares her the leader and asks for her forgiveness. The film ends with Pai's father, grandparents, and uncle coming together to celebrate her status as the new leader, as the finished waka is hauled into the sea for its maiden voyage. In voiceover, Pai declares, "My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider. I'm not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of our strength."

Cast

as Paikea Apirana *

Rawiri Paratene Peter David Broughton , generally known as Rawiri Paratene, is a New Zealand stage and screen actor, director and writer. He is known for his acting roles in ''Whale Rider'' (2002) and '' The Insatiable Moon'' (2010). Biography Paratene was bor ...

as Koro * Vicky Haughton as Nanny Flowers *

Cliff Curtis Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born 27 July 1968) is a New Zealand actor. His film credits include '' Once Were Warriors'' (1994), ''Three Kings'' (1999), ''Training Day'' (2001), '' Whale Rider'' (2002), ''Collateral Damage'' (2002), '' Sunshin ...

as Porourangi * Grant Roa as Uncle Rawiri * Mana Taumaunu as Hemi * Rachel House as Shilo * Taungaroa Emile as Willie *

Tammy Davis Tammy Davis is a New Zealand actor, best known for his role as Munter on the hit New Zealand comedy-drama '' Outrageous Fortune''. He grew up in Raetihi, New Zealand. In August 2021, it was announced that he would feature in the 2021 Season of ...

as Dog * Mabel Wharekawa as Maka (as Mabel Wharekawa-Burt) * Rawinia Clarke as Miro * Tahei Simpson as Miss Parata * Roi Taimana as Hemi's Dad (as Roimata Taimana) * Elizabeth Skeen as Rehua * Tyronne White as Jake (as Tyrone White) * Taupua Whakataka-Brightwell as Ropata * Tenia McClutchie-Mita as Wiremu * Peter Patuwai as Bubba * Rutene Spooner as Parekura * Riccardo Davis as Maui * Apiata Whangaparita-Apanui as Henare * John Sumner as Obstetrician * Sam Woods as Young Rawiri * Pura Tangira as Ace * Jane O'Kane as Anne * Aumuri Parata-Haua as Baby Paikea

Production

The film had budget of NZ$9,235,000. It received $2.5 million from the New Zealand Film Production Fund. Additional financing came from ApolloMedia, Filmstiftung NRW, the

New Zealand Film Commission The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; mi, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended ...

and NZ On Air. Casting director Diana Rowan visited numerous schools to find an actress to play Pai. 10,000 children were auditioned before narrowing it down to 12. Castle-Hughes impressed Caro in the resulting

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the ...

and was cast as Pai. The film was shot in Whangara, Te Tai Rāwhiti, and in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. Producer John Barnett said "This novel was set in Whangara and it would almost have been heresy to shoot anywhere else. There are very physical things that are described in the book – the sweep of the bay, the island that looks like a whale, the meeting houses, the number of houses that are present and of course, the people whose legend we were telling. ..If we'd gone somewhere else and tried to manufacture the surroundings and the ambience, then I think it would have been noticeable in the picture." The whale beaching was depicted using full-scale models created by Auckland-based Glasshammer Visual Effects. The -long waka seen at the end of the film was made in two-halves in Auckland before being transported to Whangara. The waka was given to the Whangara community after filming concluded.

Release

Premiere

''Whale Rider'' premiered at the

in 2002.

Theatrical release

''Whale Rider'' was theatrically released in 2003 in New Zealand and Germany.

Home media

''Whale Rider'' was released on DVD and VHS on 28 October 2004 by

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released a 15th anniversary Blu-ray of ''Whale Rider'' on their Shout! Select imprint on 22 August 2017.

Reception

Critical response

The film received critical acclaim and Castle-Hughes's performance won rave reviews. Based on 155 reviews collected by

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an overall approval rating from critics of 91%, with an average score of 7.77 as of October 2020. The website's critical consensus states, "An empowering and uplifting movie, with a wonderful performance by Castle-Hughes". By comparison,

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 79, based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Margaret Pomeranz and

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

of ''

The Movie Show ''The Movie Show'' is an Australian film review program which was broadcast on SBS TV. Its history is divided into three parts, until it finally wound up in 2008. History The original format, which ran from 30 October 1986 to 12 May 2004, had ...

'' both gave the film four out of five stars. Pomeranz said "Niki Caro has directed this uplifting story with great sensitivity, eliciting affecting performances from a sterling cast, and a wonderful one from newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film four out of four stars and said, "The genius of the movie is the way it sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving." He said of Castle-Hughes: "This is a movie star." Ebert later went on to name it as one of the ten best films of 2003. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

''s Kenneth Turan praised Caro for her "willingness to let this story tell itself in its own time and the ability to create emotion that is intense without being cloying or dishonest." Claudia Puig of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars and praised Castle-Hughes' acting, saying "so effectively does she convey her pained confusion through subtle vocal cues, tentative stance and expressive dark eyes." The film has also been discussed and praised widely within academia. Anthropologist A. Asbjørn Jøn discussed a range of Maori tribal traditions that resonate within the film, while noting links between the release of ''Whale Rider'' and increases in both New Zealand's whale watching tourism industry and conservation efforts.

Box office

''Whale Rider'' grossed US$41 million worldwide.

Awards

The film won a number of international film-festival awards, including: * the

's AGF Peoples Choice award in September 2002 * the World Cinema Audience award at the January 2003

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

in the United States * the Canal Plus Award at the January 2003

Rotterdam Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental f ...

. At the age of 13,

was nominated for the

for her performance, becoming the youngest actress ever nominated for the award at that time (breaking Isabelle Adjani's record at the age of 20). She held the record until 2012 when Quvenzhané Wallis (at the age of 9) was nominated for that category for the film '' Beasts of the Southern Wild''.

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

: * Best Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes, lost to

Charlize Theron Charlize Theron ( ; ; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 20 ...

for ''

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'')

Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...

: * Best Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes, lost to

for ''

'') * Most Promising Filmmaker (Niki Caro, lost to Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini for '' American Splendor'') * Most Promising Performer (Keisha Castle-Hughes, winner)

Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

: * Best Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes, lost to

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

for '' Bringing Down the House'') * Best Film (lost to '' The Fighting Temptations'')

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic gla ...

: * Best Foreign Film (winner)

New Zealand Film Awards New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

: * Best Film * Best Director (Niki Caro) * Best Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes) * Best Supporting Actor (Cliff Curtis) * Best Supporting Actress (Vicky Haughton) * Best Juvenile Performer (Mana Taumanu) * Best Screenplay (Niki Caro) * Best Original Score (Lisa Gerrard) * Best Costume Design (Kirsty Cameron)

Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

* Best Art Direction (lost to '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'') * Best Director (Niki Caro, lost to

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, '' My Left Foot'' and '' In the Name of the Father'', and later directed the fi ...

for '' In America'') * Best Film – Drama (lost to '' In America'') * Best Screenplay – Adapted (Niki Caro, lost to

Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...

for ''

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to ...

'')

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to me ...

: * Best Supporting Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes, lost to

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

for '' Cold Mountain'')

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) is a group of film critics based in Washington, D.C., and founded in 2002. WAFCA is composed of nearly 50 D.C.-based film critics from internet, print, radio, and television. Annually, the ...

: * Best Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes, lost to

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

for ''

21 Grams ''21 Grams'' is a 2003 American psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu from a screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga. The film stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Danny Huston and Benicio Del Toro. The sec ...

'')

Documentaries

New Zealand filmmaker

Jonathan Brough Jonathan Brough is a New Zealand-born film director based in Australia. He is best known for the comedy TV series ''Rosehaven'', ''Aftertaste'' and '' The Family Law''. Early life and education Brough grew up in Hawera, New Zealand, the son o ...

made the documentary film ''Riding the Wave: The Whale Rider Story'', as well as short documentary clips about ''Whale Rider'', to accompany the DVD.

Soundtrack

The film contains music by

Lisa Gerrard Lisa Germaine Gerrard (; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique ...

, released on the album ''Whalerider'' on 7 July 2003. Other songs heard in the film include: * Bar One (International Observer) Loaded Sounds -

International Observer International Observer is a British-New Zealand musical duo formed by Tom Bailey (musician), Tom Bailey, musician and ex-lead singer of the British band the Thompson Twins, which rose to fame during the 1980s. Its debut album, ''Seen (album), Seen ...

* Kaikoura Dub - Pitch Black * U Want Beef - Deceptikonz * Voice / Percussion Loop -

Hirini Melbourne Hirini (Sid) Melbourne (21 July 1949 – 6 January 2003) was a Māori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author who was notable for his contribution to the development of Māori music and the revival of Māori culture. He played trad ...

and

Richard Nunns Richard Anthony Nunns (7 December 1945 – 7 June 2021) was a Māori traditional instrumentalist of Pākehā heritage. He was particularly known for playing taonga pūoro and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourn ...

from Te Ku Te Whe * Jast Passing Through - Nick Theobald

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whale Rider, The 2000s New Zealand films 2002 films APRA Award winners English-language German films German coming-of-age drama films German independent films German teen drama films Films with underwater settings Films about whales Films based on New Zealand novels Films directed by Niki Caro Films set in New Zealand Films shot in New Zealand New Zealand independent films Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film winners Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners Māori-language films Sundance Film Festival award winners 2002 independent films New Zealand coming-of-age drama films 2000s teen drama films 2002 drama films Films about Māori people 2000s feminist films Films produced by Tim Sanders (filmmaker) 2000s German films