In High School, my english class always seemed to be one of the first of the day, and that was no exception back in my sophomore year.
Yet one day in January of 2004, I can safely say I don’t at all remember what we were supposed to be doing, because I was not paying any attention. We were in one of the computer labs (do those even exist anymore? I don’t know), working on research of some kind, but my mind was elsewhere: the Oscar nominations.
I had a sneaky suspicion I would be happy about certain news revolving around them, and I was: there was a Best Actress nomination for Keisha Castle Hughes in Whale Rider.
Of course, this would be a prime example of “just honored to be nominated” (no one could have stopped Charlize Theron’s predestined win for her truly remarkable work in Monster, not even the late Diane Keaton). Still, her command of the screen with the most subtle of gestures is truly remarkable (only years later could I admit I probably also had a bit of a crush on her at some point).
The film was also a bit of an intro of sorts to me to the “indie” film, or at least films that were not talked a lot about in my everyday life. I remember only managing to come across the review of this film by Roger Ebert (a four out of four) while on a family trip. In a year that introduced us to a little fish named Nemo and a Pirate named Jack Sparrow, it was hard for me to convince people to seek out the story of a young maiori girl trying to convince her grandpa (Rawiri Paratene) that she is the true future leader of her people.
Admittedly, it has been some time since I have seen the film, but the residue has never left. The scene of Pai giving her speech to the community in attendance is still one of the most gut wrenching pieces of pure cinema of this (or any) century. (Note: The PG-13 rating is abysmal: This is clearly a phenomenal family film.)
Years ago, I was made fun of by some of my friends for liking this movie, but I eventually got them to watch it. I can’t entirely remember their reaction, but they ended up not teasing me as much after, so I guess that counts as a win.
(As of this writing, Whale Rider is available to watch on TUBI and rent on VOD).
Nothing else to say 