Whale Rider (2002) ![](/images/dolby-logo-small-black.gif)
October 18, 2003 at 7:00 and 10:00pm in 26-100 and
October 19, 2003 at 10:00pm in 26-100.
"Wickedly absorbing."       -- Elvis Mitchell, New York Times. Read this review.
"A well-made, well-acted, well-photographed approach to the clash of modern
values with traditional customs...well worth seeing."       -- Tao Yue, The Tech. Read this review.
"A sensation on the international film festival circuit...all these honors turn
out not to do justice to this...substantial film of unexpected emotional
force."       -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times. Read this review.
Winner of Audience Awards at the Sundance, San Francisco, Seattle, Rotterdam,
and Toronto Film Festivals!
Pai comes from a long line of chiefs of her New Zealand tribe. According to
legend, the first of those chiefs came to the island on the back of a whale.
Pai's mother and twin brother died in childbirth, leaving Pai to inherit the
leadership of her tribe. However, tradition does not allow for a female to
become the chief, and as a result, this 11-year-old girl (Keisha Castle-Hughes) must undergo extraordinary trials in order to
prove that she is worthy of the responsibility for which she was born.
This coming-of-age tale has the feeling of a legend itself, seeming both
completely foreign and completely familiar; the unforgettable story takes
you by surprise and affects your very soul.
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