whale rider. in a small new zealand coastal village, maori claim descent from paikea, the whale rider. in every generation for more than 1000 years, a male heir born to the chief succeeds to the title. the time is now. the chief's eldest son, porourangi, fathers twins - a boy and a girl. but the boy and his mother die in childbirth. the surviving girl is named pai.



this movie is off the hook. that's not even the right phrase. because using "off the hook" is not the correct way to impart what i'm feeling about this movie. it's just dope. that's not the right word either. in fact, my vocabulary totally fails me in every which way when trying to describe this movie. suffice to say, i liked it alot. the story was simple yet full. the acting was dead on real. the mixture of images, emotions and languages was entrancing. oh look, i'm trying to use my limited vocabulary to describe something i already said i couldn't do. that's me, ever trying to do the impossible. relatedly, trying to find a job right now, it's going great as you can tell.



but this movie. it was worth the nine twenty five. it was worth watching on the big screen. lynnchen said it was the best film she'd seen all year and i'd have to agree. not that there have been very many great movies this year. but still. high praise. the lynnjon movie review gives it two thumbs up. the damn movie damn near made me cry. that's two damns for emphasis. i can't recall ever crying in a movie. it just hit on alot of personal levels. some of it explainable, some of it not. but even without all the personal effects, the movie is just touching on a general plane. the little girl in the movie can emote man. go watch this thing. so worth it.