WHALE RIDER

Whale Rider is a New Zealand-German movie directed by Niki Caro about a girl names Paikea Apirana a.k.a Pai. Pai is a very unique girl who is very mature for her own age. Being blame to bring bad luck to the tribe by his grandfather, Pai never gave up her true intuitive feeling about how she is born a leader and she feels it deep under her skin that she is going to lead the tribe even traditionally it is men who should have been the leader for the line of the tribe. This movie emphasis on the importance of story telling of olden days, about the world where magic and the impossible might exist and most importantly, the idea of where we all came from. Whether it is true or just another mythical legend is not the important part of the story, but how this story brings up spirit of togetherness and being proud of who we are. Pai's grandfather Koro kept on emphasizing the importance of continuing the tradition as he is too connects deeply with it.

What I like about the movie is how the story intertwined logic and myth. Pai understands the reason of his grandfather's resentment towards her and she understands clearly why a female should not be consider as a leader for the tribe. It is only logical to continue what that has been practiced for so many years. But, she knows she is the leader from the beginning, it is not only just an obsession she has about the mythical story of legendary Paikea, but she know she is better than the other boys on the tribe. She understand at the beginning she might not have the physical strength, but what she needs is opportunity to prove herself. When given the chance to learn how to fight with Taiaha, she managed to prove herself and others that she is capable, especially when she knocked off Hemi's taiaha. She speaks better in Maori than the other, love the culture and devote most of her time joining cultural activities like dancing, and on top of that she found the whale tooth necklace. All of this should have been the prove that she is the true leader. But to his grandfather, this is not a solid prove, just because she is a girl. Pai hears the whispers from the ancestors, deep from the sea and at the end of the movie she managed to bring back the whale to the sea saving them from dying on the shore. By witnessing that, finally the grandfather admitted she is the true leader. It is ironic that the myth and the unthinkable overpower the logic that Pai already proved earlier to win the acceptance of her grandfather. Especially all these requirements of being the leader is set by the tribe themselves.

I understand Pai's pain just to even have the need to struggle in order to prove a point to somebody who refuse to listen and understand her. It made more complicated that the person who disbelief her is her own grandfather who she loves dearly. The scene where Pai crying on stage saying, "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." caught my attention and managed to stroke me emotionally. It is true the person you love the most have the ability to hurt you more easily than other people. When someone in my family question my ability or does not believe in me, the words cut deep in my heart. The burning sensation at the bottom of my heart can only be felt when someone I love hurt me. Pai must have felt the same when her grandfather was not there watching her performance.

In conclusion, I like this movie because it managed to bring together the element of myth and relatable issues in one story. The magic is not too much to put this movie into fantasy genre, it is just enough and managed to pull off the drama and the rawness of emotions thank to Keisha Castle-Hughes performance as Paikea Apirana.