LSC Event Descriptions

October 18 & 19, 2003

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Rated PG-13
105 minutes

Whale Rider (2002)
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.


October 18 & 19, 2003 <-- Previous | Fall 2003 schedule | Next -->