pat loughery

Our family is currently in a mode of watching feel-good, lightweight movies. No scariness, no big drama. It’s hard to find good flicks in that category. It’s especially difficult for me, as my favorite movie genre is twisted psychological drama. (I loved Snatch, Trainspotting, Silence of the Lambs, …).

A short while ago I finally gave in and rented Whale Rider. Frankly I was expecting a Disneyesque new-age-GirlPower junker. Like 13 Going on 30, set in New Zealand. I couldn’t have been more blown away. If you haven’t watched this one yet, it’s a must see. I’ve been recommending it to everybody I can think of.

The plot synopsis goes something like this:

On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea’s direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

Let’s start here. The casting is amazing. The actress playing Pai, the main character in the film, shows honor and dignity even in the midst of humliating circumstances, even as she laughs and plays like an 11-year-old girl. The grandfather, Koro, is played with a balance of tradition, frustration, and a similar dignity – even as he is the most disturbing antagonist in the film. Every character is well written and well played.

One of the most intriguing relationships in the movie is between Koro and his son, Pai’s father. Although there is clear disagreement between the two of them as to the future of tribe and the nature of leadership, there is clear love between them. The face-to-face greeting that they use repeatedly is deeply powerful.

The journey that the tribe takes is understated and impactful. It’s quite moving. None of the emotionalism that I expected to have thrown on me emerged, and instead I got to think, feel, experience the film. The film says a lot that’s good about tradition, ritual, relationship, family. It’s not a simple good-vs-evil, young-vs-old morality tale.

It also beautifully captures a tribal culture and the symbols that are powerful to the people in the culture. Some of those symbols are obvious to the people, and some are less so.

Go find a DVD and watch it a few times over. Consider leadership, ritual and tribalism in the postmodern matrix as you watch. I found myself thinking a lot about my friends who are in the same boat as me in this matrix, but also are female. May God bless us all as we try to interact with that which is just below the surface.