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Touches You

Just perfect...

Fresh and Exciting

Blistering performances.

Great family movie, the story is awesome, surprisingly great acting for such a film, and touching to boot.

Whale Rider is a journey through culture, tradition, folklore, love and family.Acting was of such a great standard, it's hard to believe that such a young little actress could take on such a demanding role and have you totally mesmerised by her character.This film doesn't seem to have reached a wide enough audience and feel if it had it would be among many more 'top lists'.

This was a very interesting film, and one that I can not relate to other international films, since it was so unique. The main character Paikea was by far my favorite in the film, because she proved her grandpa that she was able to do the same things that the other boys were able to do, and yet was more capable. Paikea's grandfather in the film was not very astonished with Paikea, and would always seem to be degrading her, but towards the end of the film when none of the other boys were able to retrieve the whale tooth necklace, Paikea was the one to swim to the bottom of the ocean and find it, and he became more considerate. Seeing how the grandfather acted in the film will make it seem like he was always disappointed in Paikea, and doesn't show so much emotional feelings around her, but I wouldn't say that. I think the grandfather saw more in Paikea, that he could not see, but once he saw what Paikea was capable of he immediately became more attached. I liked how the whales were a big part of Paikea's culture as well as her ancestors. Overall I would give this film a 4/5 stars, because even though it was a great movie, it did have some flaws. Many times things were not very clear and a bit confusing at some parts in the movie.

This to me was a very interesting movie to watch. It was pretty hard for me to understand at first, but I understood it more and more along the way as far as the plot line goes. It was also very different than most, if not all, of the movies we've watched throughout the year in this class. It is a story about a grandfather who wants to pass on his leadership to his grandson. The problem is, he doesn't have one. His son only has one daughter. A girl named Pai. He makes several efforts to find a capable young village boy to take his place. All of the boys fail, angering him and causing him to severely discourage his granddaughter Pai. Pai shows on many occasions how she is far better suited for the position of leader. In the end, she finally proves herself by releasing a pod of beached whales back into the ocean. Her grandfather later feels very bad for treating her the way he did and all is well. This was a very interesting story line in my eyes. It was pretty sad at some points, but also very happy at other times. In general, I like the main character Pai. She is very strong, intelligent, and outgoing. She also never gives up as she repeatedly attempts to show and prove her skills to her grandfather. My main gripes about the film were the acting and the grandfather. the acting for the most part was very bad in my eyes. I think the main problem was that a majority of the actors were children. I also severely disliked the grandfather. He was generally a mean, sour, and cold hearted person. Instead of supporting and standing up for his granddaughter, he put her down, ignored her, and attempted to discourage her from gaining the position of leader.