Birthpsychology at the Movies

A Review of Whale Rider
by Michael Trout

Whale Rider (2003, New Market Pictures)--in art theatres, mostly, is produced in New Zealand and is rich with culture of one small part of that island. It was probably intended as a tribute to tradition and ancestry, and as a story about not overlooking the riches right in front of our faces.

But the film begins with a birth, and few APPPAH members would fail to be captured by the discovery that mother is dying, as is the boy baby in a twinship. Father--alreadt a great disappointment as he, a firstborn, has not only failed to be the prophet his father hoped his son would be, for the dying culture, but he has the audacity to be an artist, to boot--is grief-struck and leaves his surviving baby daughter in the hands of his parents. Before leaving, however, he names her Paikea after the ancient whale-rider in the culture's traditions. This annoys grandpa even further: she is a girl, and such a name suggests honor to her that she does not deserve. Such a name might more properly be bestowed on a boy baby who might be born, become a prophet, and lead the culture out of the darkness.

However, in his own grumpy aloof fashion, grandpa does indeed begin to fall in love with his granddaughter. He carries her about and, later, picks her up from school each day and rides her home on his bicycle. They don't speak, but the bond is clear. Grandpa tries to ignore the fact that she is a natural leader and a mystic, but grandma sees it.

In an enormously touching scene, grandpa's chair is empty at the school play in which Paikea delivers an incredible tribute to him. He is, that night, weeping at the shore over the whales which have beached themselves, in apparent despair. Grandpa knows the symbolism: his culture will, indeed, die. The whole community gathers to try to encourage the whales back out to sea, but to no effect--until, of course, Paikea, who has been watching from a distance, slips in unnoticed and creates the whale-riding miracle.

The film is chock full of symbolism, beautiful chants, and references to the links we have--and must maintain--with our pasts. Certainly the return of Paikea to the sea, being pulled underwater by the whale, looks for all the world like a return to her mother and twin brother in the womb, and her birth ("...when all the trouble started," according to grandpa). But I'll not say more: see it yourself and revel in the beauty of these people and the riches for those of us struggling to understand birth and development.