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Yankee_In_Ca
| Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 9:33 pm
Whale Rider ... anyone? Saw this two weeks ago. I was misty-eyed through the whole thing -- even the parts that weren't "obviously" sad. I have a very special place in my heart for New Zealand, and this movie really touched me. My partner felt the same way. I have many more thoughts, but wanted to see if anyone here had seen it before I ramble on...
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Yankee_In_Ca
| Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 9:37 pm
Posting the synopsis in case anyone hasn't seen it yet and is wondering: WHALE RIDER SYNOPSIS In a small New Zealand coastal village, Maori claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. In every generation for more than 1000 years, a male heir born to the Chief succeeds to the title. The time is now. The Chief's eldest son, Porourangi, fathers twins - a boy and a girl. But the boy and his mother die in childbirth. The surviving girl is named Pai. Grief-stricken, her father leaves her to be raised by her grandparents. Koro, her grandfather who is the Chief, refuses to acknowledge Pai as the inheritor of the tradition and claims she is of no use to him. But her grandmother, Flowers, sees more than a broken line, she sees a child in desperate need of love. And Koro learns to love the child. When Pai's father, Porourangi, now a feted international artist, returns home after twelve years, Koro hopes everything is resolved and Porourangi will to accept destiny and become his successor. But Porourangi has no intention of becoming Chief. He has moved away from his people both physically and emotionally. After a bitter argument with Koro he leaves, suggesting to Pai that she come with him. She starts the journey but quickly returns, claiming her grandfather needs her. Koro is blinded by prejudice and even Flowers cannot convince him that Pai is the natural heir. The old Chief is convinced that the tribe's misfortunes began at Pai's birth and calls for his people to bring their 12-year-old boys to him for training. He is certain that through a gruelling process of teaching the ancient chants, tribal lore and warrior techniques, the future leader of their tribe will be revealed to him. Meanwhile, deep within the ocean, a massive herd of whales is responding, drawn towards Pai and their twin destinies. When the whales become stranded on the beach, Koro is sure this signals an apocalyptic end to his tribe. Until one person prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the people. The Whale Rider. -- © Newmarket Capital Group
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Faerygdds
| Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 11:56 pm
I can't believe someone else here actually SAW this! Fabulous movie... I cried all the way through! Incredibly inspiring, emotional, and spiritual. I too saw it 2 weeks ago.. and just thinking about it makes my eyes water... Great movie!!!
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Brenda1966
| Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 10:08 am
I saw it and didn't like it. Bah humbug. I did find the young girl amazing, but I found so many other things to dislike: how they treated their women, etc. I found the film to be lacking something. The cheif was so ignorant and arrogant I didn't buy his turn around at the end. It's not that I need "happy" movies. I'm an indie film fan, but this one left me cold.
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Bastable
| Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 5:53 pm
I liked it, although it was slow and the grandfather wore on me. I wasn't blown away by it, but I liked it. I especially liked seeing Maori culture. I knew almost nothing about it, even though I have been to New Zealand two times. It was refreshing to see a movie about human relationships--no guns, no bombs, no violence.
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Pannie
| Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 7:45 am
I was very sobby at the end. It was a good movie, though too tragic for me. The poor whales and the girl was mistreated for 12 years. Like Brenda1866, I'm an indie and foreign film fan. I chose to be silent rather than recommend to friends. Then people can decide for themselves to see it.
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Pannie
| Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 8:01 am
Have you noticed the whales in this year's Survivor TV show? Great filmage of them. They maybe humpbacks. I envy the photographers who got to see them in person. 
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Ketchuplover
| Saturday, October 18, 2003 - 3:47 pm
I loved it. I hope that little girl gets a nomonation.
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Rslover
Member
12-06-2002
| Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 6:45 pm
She did get nominated today for best actress
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Ketchuplover
Member
07-03-2002
| Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 8:59 pm
I hope I get $10000000000.00 $
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-23-2000
| Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 9:23 pm
Just wanted to say that I'm thrilled that Keisha Castle-Hughes got nominated for best actress. I thought she was fabulous. As I said in chat today, I've seen the movie maybe 3 times and each time her "speech" makes my eyes tear up.
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Melfie1222
Member
07-29-2002
| Sunday, February 08, 2004 - 11:47 pm
Last night at Blockbuster, they didn't have the one I wanted, so I happened to check this one out instead. I loved it. Pai was courageous and brave and determined from the beginning, even though she was supposed to have been destined to her fate of being just a girl, and in a way even worse to her grandpa, considering the circumstances of her birth. It didn't matter to me so much whether or not old grandpa believed in her in the end, Pai believed in herself through the whole thing, and never stopped trying to learn what the old man was keeping her from, out of his ignorance or fear, whatever.
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Melfie1222
Member
07-29-2002
| Friday, February 27, 2004 - 11:46 pm
Whale Rider is showing on Oxygen, Monday night 3/1. Just posting in case anyone who already has Oxygen wants to see this movie without having to rent it. I will watch it again, and like Yankee, I will also get teary-eyed again during Pai's speech.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, March 14, 2004 - 10:40 pm
Melfie...I stumbled across the Oxygen showing just in time to TIVO it. I really liked it! I can imagine that it will be showing up in schools around the country soon. If I were still teaching freshman, I'd show this movie in conjunction with Anne McCafferty's Dragon Song. They'd be perfect...girls trying to do "boy's" job...fighting societal norms but not giving up, etc. Hmmmm...wonder if I can work this into one of my senior classes if we discuss sexism! LOL
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 4:16 pm
I just watched it. The young actress was marvelous.
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Jedisan
Member
04-02-2004
| Friday, May 07, 2004 - 5:43 pm
Recently, I was called up to Anchorage due to the death of my step-dad. To take my mom's mind off of her daily grind/grief, I suggested a "movie night" with her close female friends. We were to snack and play games and I suggested we watch "Whale Rider" (i previously viewed the movie). We had nine women , including a 19 yr old medical student, who brought along her family's visiting foreign correspondence student from Ukraine, the rest of us from our 30's to our 60's, and one 13 year old. The youngest, my neice, is the one that I sought to show this movie to. My neice, is native alaskan, adopted by my brother adn his native wife. The childs siblings, two boys were also adopted. I was joined by two Native women (one being my SIL). They were profoundly touched by the Maori traditions, art , and humor that are showcased in this wonderful little movie. Remeniscent of their own culture in so many ways. My niece is the only girl to play with the boys in her hockey league. She was struggling against them, and I hoped that this film might show her a thing about perserverence and faith, like no preaching can do. My brother is her hockey coach and he was a bit hard on her after her most recent game. (mind you, they can check/hit in these new games.) I wanted to pick her spirits up, If I could. Suffice to say that we had a wonderful time, and all of these women were delighted for the opportunity to see this movie, that may have possibly been overlooked otherwise. PS: I had to come home, and am unable to spend Mother's Day with my mom, but I did leave her with her own copy of Whale Rider, and a little key chain that has a whale on it to remind her of our night. This is a great movie, I cannot recommend it enough.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Friday, May 07, 2004 - 5:52 pm
I can't add anything to your comments except that I thorougly enjoyed this movie and the young actress too.
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