Whale Rider
Hey hey anyone wana watch this with me? Sounds neat. Brief cut-and-paste sypnosis:
Witi Ihimaera was the first Maori writer to be published in New Zealand, in 1973, and in 1986, he published the book upon which writer/director Niki Caro based this film. The movie is set among the Ngati Konohi, an indigenous people living in Whangara, New Zealand. They believe that, a thousand years ago, their mythical progenitor, Paikea, arrived on their very shores on the back of a whale. Thus was established an unbroken chain of patrilineal succession, where the first-born son of the village chieftain automatically becomes chief in his turn.
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. However, Porourangi has no intention of becoming chief. In fact, he leaves his family and tribe after the death of his wife and son, and Pai is left behind with her grandparents.
Koro (the grandpa) is blinded by prejudice and even Flowers (the grandma) 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, hoping 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.
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