7 of 10
Cinematography by Leon Narbey
Keisha Castle-Hughes
Rawiri Paratene
Vicky Haughton
Cliff Curtis
Grant Roa
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| Whale Rider 7 of 10 |
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| Directed by Niki Caro Cinematography by Leon Narbey Keisha Castle-Hughes Rawiri Paratene Vicky Haughton Cliff Curtis Grant Roa |
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| A beautifully made and shot story that revolves around the modern-day retelling of an old Maori legend. The film�s director and writer, Niki Caro, really shows off New Zealand to wonderful effect. There is an extraordinary beauty and purity to the visuals that comes directly from the land itself. And Caro realizes that, thank goodness. (I could have used quite a bit less of the whale footage, though. It began to drag pretty quickly, and I kept on seeing the diver�s air bubbles, which was a major distraction.) The story is straightforward and � although I don�t like to use this word much, it really applies here � sweet. Nowhere is that better exemplified than it the film�s lead actor, Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was as little Paikea, a role that earned her a surprise Oscar nomination. However, I finally felt that there wasn�t much to the role, with the exception of one monologue she gives that is quite excellent. In my mind, the best performance of the film came from Rawiri Paratene, who plays Castle-Hughes grandfather. He has the stoic manner and dialogue of a Maorian, which means that his face shows little and he says even less. Despite these obvious limitations, the audience is never at a loss as to what he is seeing or feeling. A wonderfully subtle performance that shows the incredible struggle and turmoil of a culture�s final generations. There were only two things that kept me from being completely drawn into the story. The first was the filmmaker�s excessive use of slow-motion at the film�s climax, a place where it was neither appropriate nor necessary. (Why does this turn up so much? Can�t people recognize when a scene is working on its own? A great frustration of mine.) And the second was the nagging recognition that, despite its sweetness and its traditional roots, it was still an agenda film. And I don�t like those. To be honest, though, the agenda was never forced into the forefront. And for that, I am exceedingly grateful. A nice film, with a heart of gold. | ||||||