Whale Rider: Artificial Hope Is Naturally Hopeless

Melanie and Melvin discuss the poignantly melancholic New Zealand film, Whale Rider, one of Melanie’s favorite movies! 

Topics:

• (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 22-minutes of discussing specific qualities we love (and hate!) in movies with examples, and why these things work (or don’t!). (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 
• Whale Rider opens on an extremely dour note, which functionally means it’s a great tone-setter for a dour movie!
• Keisha Castle-Hughes is particularly stellar in a movie that’s already stacked with excellent performances.
• The character of the grandfather made Whale Rider very difficult for Melvin to watch. Not out of anything personal, but just because his character is so insufferable.
• The ending of Whale Rider is conflicting, so Melvin and Melanie explain more about the movie before explaining more about their feelings.
• Regardless of cultural strain, a community often produces the same toxic attributes when it is in deterioration: lethargy, apathy, and a drunken sleaze. Cultural rejuvenation, however, can come in multiple ways.
• The two curiously ponder other movies that contain healthy depictions of non-Anglo-Saxon cultures.
• Melvin angry-rants about the poor streaming quality of Whale Rider on both Peacock and Prime (two services it was available on at the time of recording). He frustratingly ponders the state of film preservation in the age of streaming. 

Recommendations:

• Little Giants (1994) (Movie)
• Braindead (1992) (Movie) (DVD purchase) (Justwatch)

Whale Rider is Rated PG-13 for brief language and a momentary drug reference. It features Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa, Mana Taumaunu, and Rachel House. Directed by Niki Caro. Whale Rider is available here.

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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

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