Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

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

tamayo-24294 Whale Rider is a film from New Zealand, it portrays a small young girl who is destined to become chief. But there are some roadblocks in her way. Such as her grandfather, as is all older people who are stuck in their own way, Pie's grandfather wants a new chief for the community and it has to be a boy. Koro sets off to find the next chief by creating a school for boys since he does not have a grandson of his own. Koro goes so far as to disown Pie to find the right person, even if that person is right in front of him. I understand where Koro is coming from. He wants to keep the tradition of then a male chief alive, but at the same time I understand that Pie is the true leader and it's time for change. As time goes on through the film Pie's ability to be chief shows, she is able to call the great elder's, whales. As soon a Koro realizes she is the one, he has to accept her and he does. The film shows how to love, care, and accept, and we can use it to guide us today.

Elinor 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.

Cameron Crawford I did not like this film very much. This movie seemed to force a gender issue, where there was not a real need for one. I liked the concept of the whale rider, and how the Grandfather would raise the youth of the area into a whale rider. I thought the grandfather not allowing his daughter to train and practically banishing her was excessive. The grandfather was quick tempered and only wanted a grandson, so the entire movie was based around the grandfather's disliking of his daughter. In my opinion, this movie was too focused on the subject of the daughter not being the person that her grandfather wanted her to be, rather than it focusing on what she wanted. Some people could view this movie as a break from social and gender norms, but I saw it as a girl that couldn't do anything to break her gender norms until she risked her life to save the whales. Overall, this movie was not very enjoyable for me, mainly because of the dull plot and sub-par acting.