Whale Rider

A film set in a Maori community in New Zealand. Pai is twelve. Her grandfather Koro, the leader of the tribe, believes tradition requires the new leader to be a boy. Pai's twin brother died at birth, and he was a boy; Koro keeps his distance from his granddaughter and looks for another candidate in the community. Pai does not reject the tradition, she claims it: she secretly learns the teaching her grandfather gives the boys, and works at the language and the songs. The film's question sits there: is the tradition itself the problem, or its being read in only one way. The source is Witi Ihimaera's novel. The legend the story rests on concerns the community's own origin: their ancestors are believed to have arrived on the back of a whale. It was shot in a real Maori village and the community took part in the production directly. Keisha Castle-Hughes plays Pai. She was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar and was at that time the youngest nominee in the category. An affecting work for anyone who likes family drama and films built on cultural identity. For a viewer looking for restraint, the film raises the feeling markedly in its final section.