Whale Rider: A list in lieu of a review

[firecat]

Here are several personal reasons why I liked the movie Whale Rider:



Has lots of happy attractive fat people being physically active, with only one or two fat-negative comments.

Qualifies under the Bechdel Rule (albeit a bit scantily on the bit "about something other than men").

Has a hauntingly beautiful music soundtrack.

Has lots of underwater shots.

Has whales.

Made me cry without killing any people. (I needed to cry, and I don't cry all that often over movies.)

Includes a somewhat realistic portrayal of depression.

Has some feminist sensibility.

Has some cultural sensitivity.

Has some excellent acting.

Comments

[kmd.livejournal.com]

Oh, how I love this movie.

Portrayal of a young girl that is neither precious nor bratty.

Portrayal of a lifelong relationship (Koro and Nanny Flowers) that isn't sentimentalized.

And I loved the language and the slang, and the way every character showed beauty at one point or another.

I was grateful for seeing the transition of loafing ne'er-do-wells into Maori ceremonial warriors. I do a lot of liberal yapping about a lot of unemployment and crime being caused by racism and wasted potential and lack of community, but I never seem to get anywhere near what I am trying to communicate. In the character of Uncle Rawiri, the young man who teaches Paikea, this film just went ahead and showed it. And looking at the movie's website, I can see now that this makes sense because a whole lot of the folks involved with this film were also involved with "Once We Were Warriors," about Maori in modern New Zealand.

[firecat]

Thanks for the extra background. I agree.