Whale Rider

Drama/New Zealand/English/Maori (Japanese Subtitles)/105mins
Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Cliff Curtis
Director/Writer: Niki Caro. Japan Herald

The recent Lord of the Rings frenzy has done wonders for New Zealand tourism and has also beefed up the respect for the NZ film industry. However scenery, director and extras aside LOTR is all Hollywood. But it has opened the door wider for 100% pure Kiwi flicks like Whale Rider to gain more exposure.

Whale Rider is typical in many ways of a NZ film and is based on one legend of its original inhabitants, the Maori People. The title of the movie speaks for itself and unfortunately most of your premise will be realized. Being one step ahead while watching this movie is a definite downside. However, its heartstring pulling themes have been very appealing as it has won audience awards at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam film festivals.

First time to screen Keisha Castle-Hughes plays Paikea, a strong willed pre-teen Maori girl. She is ambitious and innocently challenges the tight Maori belief in rigid male and female roles. The myth of Paikea's tribe is that the original chief of her people was brought to New Zealand by a rescuing whale. The birthright of the chief’s first-born son is to follow in this tradition, but the line is cut with the birth of Paikea.

Pai is symbolic of the struggle Maori values and people face in a modern and European dominated New Zealand. The ideal of the movie is that culture needs to adapt but not be lost or swallowed up.

A few of the actors are given sold platforms to develop from and its only international veteran Cliff Curtis (Three Kings, Blow) does a pitiful job as the chief’s son who fails his duties.

The scenery and cinematography are beautiful and the whales very real. Traditional Maori martial arts, buildings, music and protocols are dealt with gently and well presented to the uneducated. There are some humorous moments that could have been spanned out more cleverly.

It is considered an 'art house' movie although not absurd or dark and it is as they say in Japan a “hiyuuman dorama” (human drama). Being of Maori ancestry myself it gives me great satisfaction to see Maori on screen getting exposure in a more positive and intriguing light.

28 Days Later

Sci-Fi/Horror/UK/USA/English/113mins
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Alexander Delamere
Dir: Danny Boyle. Twentieth Century Fox

Director Danny Boyle of “Trainspotting” fame has received a great amount of positive vibes about his latest effort 28 Days Later, even though I struggled to get through it.

This film starts out like any great Science Fiction flick and sets the scene with a ruthless blood-borne virus escaping from a British research facility. This virus devastates within seconds and causes the victim to be locked in a murderous rage. The “rage” eventually sweeps over Paris and New York, killing many and turning most into murderous zombies. Within 28 days England has been virtually wiped out and that’s when we meet our first uninfected hero Jim (Cillian Murphy).

In an awfully dragged out scene he walks by many London landmarks and eventually he learns about the virus from an old newspaper that comes by like tumbleweed. He then meets some other uninfected survivors who have your standard array of desirable and annoying characteristics. Jim and the gang decide to head off to Manchester where they heard the British Army have set up a barricaded “safe zone”. But is it a set up? Are they really zombies?

I am not going to ruin it for you, and, you should check it out for yourself especially if you’re a Sci-fi fan. But be warned the conclusion is very standard.

Production wise, this flick runs like a film students $500 master-piece. But in all fairness, Boyle wanted this real documentary feel and so he shot it on video.

Although the script and characters lack depth the question of human instincts and corruptions loom over the viewers head. We are left wondering “what ifs” and “why dids” and “imagine if” at the end. Maybe some of you will doubt the logic and would have hoped for a loser loses all situation, but even though Trainspotting and Shallow Grave seem saturated in blackness, there was a winner…no matter the crap he went through to get there.

Film Reviews: Tinaka Stewart

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