Whale Rider 2003

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: A whopping good yarn. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: There is magic here, enough to make Whale Rider worthy of the audience-choice awards it has earned at film festivals worldwide. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: ... a visual poem to New Zealand's tribal communities that celebrates tradition, respects nature and embraces the new world. Read more

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune: A true crowd-pleaser that never panders to achieve its effects. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: Once the picture kicks into gear, it has the inspiring resonance of found art. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A whale of a tale. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: At its transporting best, Whale Rider seesaws between archetype and innocence -- it's a re-founding myth that happens in real time, before an audience's wondering eyes. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: When the words 'Dedicated to those who came before' appear on screen at the close, you can almost feel all those ancestors joining modern audiences in applauding what has been accomplished here. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: The most effective and moving female empowerment movie in awhile. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Whale Rider is one of those book-me -a-ticket yesterday movies. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: An inviting international audience-pleaser written and directed with ardor by New Zealand filmmaker Niki Caro. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Despite their age difference -- one so venerable, the other so callow -- [Paratene and Castle-Hughes] both exude an intrinsic majesty that the camera adores. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: A film of elegant simplicity that seamlessly combines reality and mythology. It's also one of the year's most beautiful films. Read more

Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly: Castle-Hughes is astonishing in the demanding lead role. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: A portentous coming-of-age saga that weighs as much as the venerated ocean mammals at its center. Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek: The filmmaker knows how to seduce an audience without making it feel had. When a movie's this likable, it would take a very tough crowd not to be pleased. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: Pai is resourceful and in harmony with the natural world in a way that will charm and enthrall young viewers. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The story itself is richly rewarding and uplifting -- the coming-of-age tale of a girl who must defy the odds to achieve her goals. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The genius of the movie is the way is sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: [The story] is so simple that the audience gets ahead of it from the beginning. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A story that J.K. Rowling fans young and old will savor. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: It's a film about gender empowerment in which the struggle between the sexes isn't reduced to crude stereotypes, and the lessons learned come honestly and with a sense of genuine revelation. Read more

Time Out: Niki Caro roots her characters in a landscape equal parts mundane and boundless, incorporates tantalising sea photography and Lisa's Gerrard's ambient soundtrack, and lifts off into a sublime, Elysian ending. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Caro gives the fablesque story -- based on a 1,000-year-old Maori legend -- both a contemporary and timeless quality, anchored by newcomer Castle-Hughes' powerful and haunting performance. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Newcomer Castle-Hughes' unaffected, confident turn makes it credible our heroine might retain her determination and self-worth despite serial setbacks. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Caro strives to poeticize the native sea legends (the lovely underwater whale footage is, alas, all digital), but the aboriginal hoopla comes off as tribal ritual for its own sake. Read more