Film2003101 min

Whale Rider

Name: Whale Rider
Genre: Drama, Family
Released: 2003
Duration: 101 min
Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa

Taste attributes: dramafamilyanimalsslowfresh & originalwholesomeheavyintricateglossybig & variedemotive & stirringcomplex relationshipempowerment/personal growthhuman spirit/resilience/survivalinjustice/tragedy/vengeancesocial commentarysolving the riddle/not as it seems

See which match your taste

"In the ways of the ancients she found a hope for the future."

Boxlist takeExpect a wholesome, moving family film, fresh rather than familiar. Best if you like stories that hit hard.

Taste details

Pace: slow · Originality: fresh · Tone: very wholesome · Weight: heavy · Realism: balanced · Story: intricate · Structure: balanced · Look: glossy · Scale: big and varied · Emotional punch: stirringHow we score

Quality rating

7.3 /10

TMDB · 266 votes

Your matchTake the taste test to see your match

Where to watch

Streaming data: JustWatch

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What lines up

Weightiness: Weighty / heavy, just how this profile likes it
Emotional punch: Emotive / stirring, just how this profile likes it
Pace: Slow, just how this profile likes it

What might not click

Wholesomeness: Wholesome, where this profile leans unsavoury

This is a sample for Hard Hitter. Take the taste test to see your own match for Whale Rider.

Synopsis

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.

Synopsis: TMDB