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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
83
Alexandra
43
Anamorph
35
Babysitters, The
32
Backseat
80
Band's Visit, The
62
Battle for Haditha
47
Bella
63
Blind Mountain
71
Blindsight
47
Boarding Gate
63
Body of War
58
Bra Boys
70
Caramel
54
Cashback
44
Chaos Theory
32
Chapter 27
69
Chicago 10
82
Chop Shop
46
CJ7
78
Counterfeiters, The
30
Cover
48
Dark Matter
35
Deal
61
Dhamma Brothers, The
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
58
Fall, The
43
Favor, The
58
First Saturday in May, The
57
Flawless
87
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
xx
From Within
44
Frontier(s)
59
Fugitive Pieces
41
Funny Games
66
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
61
Girls Rock!
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
57
Grand, The
58
Hats Off
68
Honeydripper
xx
Jack and Jill vs. the World
67
Jellyfish
xx
Kiss the Bride
37
Life Before Her Eyes, The
72
Life of Reilly, The
50
Look
65
Married Life
35
Meet Bill
63
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
54
Mister Lonely
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
52
Noise
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83
Paranoid Park
55
Pathology
48
Penelope
90
Persepolis
62
Planet B-Boy
xx
Plumm Summer, A
67
Praying with Lior
46
Previous Engagement, A
72
Priceless
17
Prom Night
69
Redbelt
72
Roman de gare
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
85
Savages, The
24
Sex and Death 101
66
Shelter
75
Shotgun Stories
40
Sleepwalking
67
Snow Angels
64
Son of Rambow
71
Standard Operating Procedure
76
Stuff and Dough
64
Surfwise
xx
Tashan
82
Taxi to the Dark Side
57
Teeth
56
Then She Found Me
55
Tracey Fragments, The
56
Turn the River
72
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
59
Under the Same Moon
76
Unforeseen, The
xx
Unsettled
91
Up the Yangtze
55
Vice
79
Visitor, The
64
Water Lilies
45
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
57
Without the King
74
Witnesses, The
63
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
45
Zombie Strippers
97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
91
Up the Yangtze
90
Persepolis
87
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Savages, The
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
82
Chop Shop
82
Taxi to the Dark Side
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Unforeseen, The
76
Stuff and Dough
75
Young@Heart
75
Shotgun Stories
74
Witnesses, The
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Roman de gare
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Life of Reilly, The
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Blindsight
71
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Caramel
69
Redbelt
69
Chicago 10
68
Honeydripper
67
Snow Angels
67
Praying with Lior
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
67
Jellyfish
66
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
66
Shelter
65
Married Life
64
Surfwise
64
Son of Rambow
64
Water Lilies
63
XXY
63
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
63
Body of War
63
Blind Mountain
62
Planet B-Boy
62
Battle for Haditha
61
Dhamma Brothers, The
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
Girls Rock!
59
Under the Same Moon
59
Fugitive Pieces
58
First Saturday in May, The
58
Fall, The
58
Hats Off
58
Bra Boys
57
Flawless
57
Teeth
57
Without the King
57
Grand, The
56
Turn the River
56
Then She Found Me
55
Vice
55
Tracey Fragments, The
55
Pathology
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
54
Cashback
54
Mister Lonely
52
Noise
52
My Blueberry Nights
50
Look
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
48
Dark Matter
48
Penelope
47
Bella
47
Boarding Gate
46
CJ7
46
Previous Engagement, A
45
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
45
Zombie Strippers
44
Frontier(s)
44
Chaos Theory
43
Anamorph
43
Favor, The
41
Funny Games
40
Sleepwalking
37
Life Before Her Eyes, The
35
Meet Bill
35
Babysitters, The
35
Deal
32
Backseat
32
Chapter 27
30
Cover
24
Sex and Death 101
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
17
Prom Night
xx
Tashan
xx
Unsettled
xx
Plumm Summer, A
xx
Kiss the Bride
xx
Jack and Jill vs. the World
xx
From Within
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Whale Rider
Newmarket Film Group
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for brief language and a momentary drug reference
Starring
Keisha Castle-Hughes,
Rawiri Paratene,
Vicky Haughton,
Cliff Curtis,
Grant Roa,
Mana Taumaunu,
Rachel House,
and
Taungaroa Emile
A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill her destiny. (South Pacific Pictures)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Niki Caro
Witi Ihimaera (novel The Whale Rider)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Niki Caro
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: October 28, 2003
Video: October 28, 2003
Theatrical: June 6, 2003
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
105 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
New Zealand / Germany |
AGF People's Choice Award, 2002 Toronto International Film Festival; World Cinema Audience Award, 2003 Sundance Film Festival; Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature (tie), 2003 San Francisco International Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
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.

100
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
One of the best performances -- and movies -- of the year so far.

90
Chicago Reader
Fred Camper
Utterly fresh and beguiling.

90
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Evokes its spirituality with deft strokes and wonderful humor.

90
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
A substantial film of unexpected emotional force. And when at a certain point it seems to slip the bonds of this world and take a leap of faith into an almost mythological dimension, it breathlessly takes us along for that memorable ride.

90
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
Seduces us with its leisurely pace and felicitous details into believing that something miraculous is afoot in a mundane rural community.
89
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
Castle-Hughes and Paratene are nothing short of remarkable in their roles.

88
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
A film of female empowerment that resonates deeply.

88
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
The rhythms of Whale Rider are hypnotic as the ebb tide, haunting as the song of the humpback sea mammal, bracing as the ocean spray. It's a movie that rewards the patient viewer.

88
USA Today
Claudia Puig
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.

88
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
You can say nothing of Castle-Hughes except that she's already a movie star: The camera loves her and we do, too.

88
Chicago Tribune
Mark Caro
One may gripe that the tale at times seems familiar, yet that familiarity is also part of the movie's power: Here's a story from halfway around the world that somehow connects with the hearts of viewers of almost any culture.

83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Paula Nechak
The real find in this lovely family film is Castle-Hughes, who makes Pai's confusion, emotional fragility and devotion palpable.

80
TV Guide
Ken Fox
what makes Caro's film a future classic is What so many movies geared toward younger audiences lack: a cool and very courageous 'tween heroine whom boys and girls of all ages can admire

80
The Hollywood Reporter
Sheri Linden
The film boasts a terrific newcomer in the lead role, exquisite widescreen photography and a powerful sense of place.

80
LA Weekly
Ernest Hardy
Writer-director Niki Caro, who adapted the screenplay from the novel, has crafted a script replete with both crowd-pleasing touches and subtle but powerful insights into all the characters.

80
Dallas Observer
Gregory Weinkauf
Once in a while a film comes along that is as sound, smart, sweet and significant as can be, and Whale Rider is such a film.

80
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
Wickedly absorbing.

80
Variety
Dennis Harvey
Combines straightforward coming-of-age narrative with Maori mysticism to most engaging effect.

80
Newsweek
David Ansen
While Whale Rider is a doozy of a female-empowerment fantasy, its mercifully free of any feminist smugness.

75
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
An excellent way to teach children that movies don't begin and end with Hollywood blockbusters.

75
Miami Herald
Connie Ogle
There is magic here, enough to make Whale Rider worthy of the audience-choice awards it has earned at film festivals worldwide.

75
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Like last year's Inuit sensation ''The Fast Runner,'' the Maori drama Whale Rider is based on a folk myth, and it's told with an elemental timelessness that feels like a swan dive into prehistory.

75
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
An inviting international audience-pleaser.

75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Story itself is richly rewarding and uplifting - the coming-of-age tale of a girl who must defy the odds to achieve her goals. There's plenty of humor to keep the overall tone light.

75
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
Pai is resourceful and in harmony with the natural world in a way that will charm and enthrall young viewers.

75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
The Canadian film "Atanarjuat" travelled back to the past to meet an ancient legend on its own ground and treated the tale realistically. Whale Rider whisks its legend up into the present, and then adds a touch of lyricism.

70
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
Though there's a formula at the film's core, Whale Rider still has the good taste to make that formula go down easy.

50
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
Whale Rider is one long, sensitive downer capped by an uplifting finale. A martyr fantasy that turns victorious -- it's a surefire recipe for arthouse crowd-pleasing.

50
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
By the end, a sense settles in that Whale Rider could have accomplished as much -- and been considerably more powerful -- as a 25- minute short.

50
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
Like the film, Pai's character is muddily conceived and ill-focused, but the coltish, tremulously delicate Castle-Hughes is a hypnotic camera subject.


The average user rating for this movie is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 149 User Votes
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