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Whale Rider (2002)

101 min · Coming Of Age, Family Drama, coming-of-age film, drama film, family film

Popularity5/5
12-month trend31k8.2kExpand

12-month trend

Monthly article views

31k02025-09: 8,346 views2025-10: 8,171 views2025-11: 31,065 views2025-12: 14,990 views2026-01: 13,605 views2026-02: 10,330 views2026-03: 12,422 views2026-04: 10,875 views2026-05: 11,982 views2026-06: 9,953 views2026-07: 11,071 views2026-08: 12,146 views
Sep8.3kOct8.2kNov31kDec15kJan14kFeb10kMar12kApr11kMay12kJun10.0kJul11kAug12k

2025-09 to 2026-08

Directors

Niki Caro

Cast

Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa, Mana Taumaunu, Rachel House, Taungaroa Emile, Tammy Davis, Mabel Wharekawa, Rawinia Clarke, Tahei Simpson

The story

The film's plot follows the story of Paikea Apirana (Pai for short). In her village, the leader is traditionally a first-born son, a direct patrilineal descendant of Paikea, the Whale Rider who rode on top of a whale from Hawaiki. Pai is originally born a twin, but her twin brother and her mother died during childbirth.

Catalogue themes and tags

Canoe, Chief, Coming Of Age, Empowerment, Grandfather-Granddaughter-Relationship, Grandmother-Granddaughter-Realtion, Loss of Mother, Maori, Maori Tradition, Modern Society, New Zealand, Ocean, Patriarch, Patriarchy, Role of Women, Stick Fighting, Tradition, Verlust des Bruders, Whale, Widowed, Zwilling, Indie, World cinema, Family Drama, Childhood Drama, Coming of age, Drama, Family Film, Feminist Film

Genres

Coming Of Age, Family Drama, coming-of-age film, drama film, family film
Find trailer on YouTube ↗ Plot source & revision Wikipedia Wikidata Open Media Database

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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