Whale Rider

We just got home from watching Whale rider. I had read good reviews about it when it first came out and had been meaning to see it for close to two months now. Of course, all the good movies somehow end up showing only at West Gate in South Austin. However, when I checked the paper today, it was showing at Gateway, so there we went.

This is one of those movies that just blows you away. I'd been thinking that we hadn't seen anything really good in a while (OK, Spellbound was pretty funny, but it's a documentary) and then comes this little gem. It's a coming of age story (girl born to lead, fighting the odds) set in a Maori village in New Zealand--the plot and the characters are very engrossing and the ending is riveting. As Jfer put it--it's been a while since a movie made her cry. Both the two main characters, Keisha Castle-Hughes as Paikea and Rawiri Paratene as her grandfather where simply incredible.

So if you think PG-13 movies are boring, think again. Go and check this thing out--you'll be glad you did.