Whale Rider

Movie

2003

1h 41m

PG-13

English

Drama

User Score:

7.6

Critic Score:

Watch on Hoopla

Whale Rider

PG-13

Movie

2003

1h 41m

English

Drama

Watch on Hoopla

On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

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7.6

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CRITIC SCORE

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Cast

Paikea Apirana

Koro

Nanny Flowers

Porourangi

Uncle Rawiri

Hemi

Shilo

Willie

Dog

Maka

Miro

Miss Parata

Hemi's Dad

Obstetrician

Directed By: Niki Caro

Written By: Niki Caro (Screenplay)

Featured Comments/Tips

hirkiti says...

11 months ago

Super sad but good movie. I would have never watched it if I new how sad it was. Why would you make a sad movie? Because you’re a sadist and want to make your audience cry? Even horror movie makers are less evil than that. What’s worse than crying? Well ok being brutally tortured it probably worse but crying is pretty high on the top shitty feelings list.

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Narate says...

6 months ago

>"Wise leader, forgive me. I am only a fledgling new to flight." Paikea is such a strong loving character, which is why it's hard for me to not be angry at Koro all the way through this. While beautiful, it is also sad.

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Nancy L Draper says...

5 years ago

What a wonderful movie! Clearly Maori, definitely Kiwi but assuredly international in its appeal. There is an ethereal quality to this story yet it is also very homegrown which makes its award attention well deserved. Keisha Castle-Hughes' performance (she was 11 at the time) is powerful and moving (she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar for this, and, if she looks familiar, she was Mary in THE NATIVITY and the eldest Sand sister in GAME OF THRONES). The story is ancient and contemporary at the same time. The allure is "haunting as the song of the humpback sea mammal" (I'm quoting Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). I was delighted by this film a give it a 9 (superb) out of 10. [Family Drama]

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Featured User Reviews

bladefd

8/10 2 months ago

This film is different from anything I have watched before. It’s a brief glimpse into the Maori culture, tradition, and music of the Whangara tribe around New Zealand, which I knew nothing about before. The story doesn’t focus much on the culture, but it’s there throughout, guiding the intrica More

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