Few coming-of-age stories blend so seamlessly indigenous identity through spiritual belief and balance the reality of a world where such belief has been devalued.

| Original Score: A | Jun 28, 2024

A fairly standard coming of age tale that features a solid performance from Castle-Hughes. Despite being a nearly 1-to-1 adaptation, however, the film is missing the spirit (and spiritualism) of the source material.

| Mar 12, 2024

Keisha Castle-Hughes deservedly earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her startling film debut.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 30, 2021

Poignant and powerful, this unique family film is simply unforgettable.

| Oct 5, 2021

[A] heartfelt drama about gender, culture and generational clashes.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 10, 2020

I get a pleasant surprise observing its tale of inclusion, ancestral traditions and family wounds. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 8, 2020

It's refreshing to see a film so intent on showing the love and sorrow that comes from interaction between family members. I also enjoyed seeing a film that opened up a world with distinctly different cultures and beliefs.

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 16, 2019

Filmmaker-writer Caro orchestrates scenes with a lyrical touch, infusing the film with doses of humor, and an effortless, mythic quality consistent with its source material, the eponymous cultural novel by Maori author Witi Ihimaera.

| Apr 30, 2019

[Lisa] Gerrard's ethereal vocal style combined with electronic flourishes make for an unusual soundtrack, but one that meshes with the film's bracing mixture of mysticism and realism set against the strange and beautiful New Zealand landscape.

| Mar 12, 2019

Whale Rider will endure as a modern masterwork because its themes are as universal as the story is localized.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 31, 2018

Castle-Hughes' performance is so amazing and she plays off of the veteran Maori actors so well it's hard to believe she was plucked from her classroom when a film crew came by looking for a non-actor....

| Original Score: A- | Jan 16, 2018

Excellent to watch and discuss as a family.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 29, 2010

This is what a children's film should be like.

| Apr 29, 2009

The movie's story is a sometimes clumsy but gradually involving coming-of-age story about courage, sexism, past customs vs. contemporary social values and a community and family at odds within themselves.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 7, 2008

Newcomer Castle-Hughes' unaffected, confident turn makes it credible our heroine might retain her determination and self-worth despite serial setbacks.

Full Review | Jul 22, 2008

The third act -- where all our predictions come true -- has a quiet dignity and, although it moves from A to B as expected, how it gets there is surprisingly mysterious.

| Jun 3, 2008

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 7, 2007

The filmmaker knows how to seduce an audience without making it feel had. When a movie's this likable, it would take a very tough crowd not to be pleased.

| Nov 1, 2007

Niki Caro roots her characters in a landscape equal parts mundane and boundless, incorporates tantalising sea photography and Lisa's Gerrard's ambient soundtrack, and lifts off into a sublime, Elysian ending.

| Jan 26, 2006

"Whale Rider" is a mystical, gentle movie that goes beyond the boundaries of the usual coming-of-age film.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 3, 2005