MovieFreak.com - "Whale Rider" Special Edition DVD Review by Dennis Landmann

A small Maori village faces a crisis when the heir to the leadership of the Ngati Konohi dies at birth and is survived only by his twin sister, Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes). Although disregarded by her grandfather Koro (Rawiri Paratene), twelve-year-old Pai remains certain of her calling and trains herself in the ways and customs of her people. With remarkable grace, she finds the strength to challenge her family and embraces a thousand years of tradition in order to fulfill her destiny.

Watching Whale Rider is like a realization coming over you. I think the film really opens up a person inside. It presents a certain viewpoint or custom, here male domination in a people's tradition, and throughout the story offers arguments to conquer it. A pre-teen girl finds herself in the middle of a crisis, but she is determined to take down the walls of prejudice and build a reputation for herself as a worthy, reputable leader of her people. Newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes embodies that character most extraordinarily. She lends her character many traits, such as advancing from innocence to recognizing responsibilities. Her character grows a lot in the story and Keisha is able to make that transition believable in her performance.

Rawiri Paratene co-stars as her grandfather Koro, a religious man who begins to disown Pai for what she has become in the eyes of the village. There is some really strong conflict between the two characters and it sustains very well throughout the film until a pivotal scene towards the end, at which point an emotional payoff occurs. Pai's relationships with her father (Cliff Curtis) and grandmother (Vicky Haughton) are also quite strong, and they help the story gain more depth. Watching Pai go on a personal journey to find her place in life makes for an engrossing and emotionally-invested story. Again, the success of it all comes down to the lead performance, and again, Keisha Castle-Hughes is very strong. There's quite a powerful scene towards the latter half of the film when Pai gives a speech at the end of her school dance.

Making Whale Rider come together as a terrific film is Niki Caro as writer and director. She adapts from Witi Ihimaera's novel, which draws its story from actual events as he lived in a Maori village as a child. Caro's script builds slowly, yet it does so effectively. Some passages also move along slower than intended, but they never get boring or drag down the film as a whole. I could sense Caro directed the film with a lot of passion and care. Helping the film achieve its beautiful look is director of photography Leon Narbey, production designer Grant Major and costume designer Kristy Cameron. Their respective work on the film really blend together nicely. New Zealand and the village look really inviting. Whale Rider also benefits from a great ethereal score by Lisa Gerrard (The Insider, Gladiator).

Again, Whale Rider is such a pleasure to watch. It says a lot about expectations, tradition, values, family, respect, loyalty, relationships, etc. What the film says is not superficial in any way. In fact, it's just the opposite. Above all I believe Whale Rider possesses a heart and soul that presents viewers with inspiration. I highly recommend watching this film.

As a side note, it's a real shame the MPAA rates the film PG-13 for brief language and a momentary drug reference. That is totally ridiculous. Nothing in this film is harmful to anyone under 13. I don't understand how this film is on the same level as Scary Movie 3, a seriously raunchy film with a lot of drug/sex references and innuendos. It just doesn't make sense. However, people should know Whale Rider is really a PG type of film that the whole family can watch together.

Columbia presents Whale Rider in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors are bright and well-saturated. Also, there are the occasional blue overtones, but most of the presentation sees a lot of different colors. Minor grain appears here, but other print flaws don't exist. The print quality is in very good shape. Dark tones and black levels are solid and have good depth. Overall, this is a very good presentation.

Columbia presents Whale Rider in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. This presentation really doesn't have much sound to utilize the surround sound medium. Except for a few songs and Lisa Gerrard's score, the soundtrack is pretty quiet. Yes, dialog scenes are clear and easy to understand, although many of the sound effects are hardly accentuated across the soundfield. I didn't expect a lot here so I wasn't very disappointed with this presentation. I mean, it's fine, but doesn't do a whole lot to make this a truly surrounding experience.

Taking in just above $20 million at the box office earlier this year, Sony gives Whale Rider a pretty nice and above all deserving special edition treatment.

Director Niki Caro may be heard in an full-length audio commentary. The track contains some good information and discussions, yet Caro sometimes ventures off into other things. She is very soft-spoken and passionate in her chat.

Next is the 27-minute Behind the Scenes of Whale Rider which focuses on the performance of Keisha Castle-Hughes and the adult actors, as well as a little on the the background of the story, filmmaking process and scoring music with Lisa Gerard. Also available is a ten-minute look at the construction of the giant Maori canoe in a featurette called Te Waka: Building the Canoe. It's a neat little presentation for a scene that holds much significance in the film.

Following that are eight deleted scenes with optional commentary by Niki Caro and producer Bill Gavin. Some of them are nice to watch, but overall these scenes don't add too much valuable information. Rounding out the extras is the film's theatrical trailer, TV spots, art & photo gallery, and soundtrack presentation.

You can select to view the film with optional English and Spanish subtitles. The 101-minute feature is organized into twenty-seven chapters.

Whale Rider is a tremendous film. The story is very much involving and the lead performance of Keisha Castle-Hughes is nothing short of extraordinary. Niki Caro and crew also make the film look beautiful. Video/audio quality is pretty decent and extras are pretty good. Whale Rider is worth a purchase. Highly Recommended.

THE MOVIE	9
THE VIDEO	8
THE AUDIO	6
THE EXTRAS	7
OVERALL (not an average)	8