Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Actress 2003

The Contenders:

Naomi Watts: 21 Grams
Samantha Morton: In America
Charlize Theron: Monster (winner)
Diane Keaton: Something’s Gotta Give
Keisha Castle-Hughes: Whale Rider

Dolphins are for Wusses

Film: Whale Rider
Format: DVD from DeKalb Public Library on laptop.

Chip Lary at Tips from Chip has been proselytizing to me about the film Whale Rider. The only reason it didn’t show up on his list of films for me for this year was that it appeared on my Oscars list (and he gave me another New Zealand/Maori film to compensate). This is one of those films that I figured I’d better watch soon so that his head didn’t explode, so when I spotted it on the library shelves the other day, I figured it was time to watch Whale Rider, if only to prevent the possibility of Chip overselling it to me.

We are immediately thrust into a patrilineal culture and witness the birth of the grandson of a tribal chief of a Maori group. As it happens the wife of the chief’s son dies in childbirth as does the grandson. But the wife had twins, and the surviving child is a daughter named Paikea, the name of the original ancestor who is alleged to have come to New Zealand riding on a whale. The grandfather, Koro (Rawiri Paratene), is upset about the death of his grandson and seems not to care much about the death of his daughter-in-law. He’s also upset about the name of his new granddaughter. Paikea’s father Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), unable to deal with the death of his wife and son, leaves, entrusting his daughter to his parents.