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tarablossom
Reviews
Whale Rider (2002)
Superb, sustains multiple viewings.
For people who need every nuance spelled out, this movie might be too difficult. But between my 7 year old daughter and myself at 43, this movie has enough depth in content to have captured the attention of both of us. In our case, we had to watch it a second time just to catch all the dialog since we are not versed in the New Zealand accent. But we have since watched it many more times.
First, the script is not full of dialog. A picture, a shrug or a facial expression paints a thousand words. The relationship between granddaughter and grandfather is chronicled in small incidents which fully describe as words can not just how complex is the world we live in and our relationships within that world.
The support cast is equally well delineated. The grandmother and her card-playing cronies, the good-natured adult brother who appears the buffoon but is not, the oldest brother working on his own demons and nightmares; even one schoolmate is developed as both antagonist and friend also trying to contend with his own dramas.
For my daughter, the heroine and girl child is a wonderful role model of strength and stubbornness in a male dominated world.
This movie covers many modern concepts in timeless fashion: dysfunctional family behavior, communion with nature, the fight for cultural survival (in this case the native Maori culture of New Zealand), and the concept that in the end goodness can prevail and even old dogs can learn new tricks.
And finally it includes the magic of believing in something greater than oneself. The world is not perfect, but within the framework of community, we can pull together and be better for it. This movie stands out.
The Dancer (2000)
Great for Dancing Enthusiasts
This movie belongs in the group of movies that people watch not only for a story (or in spite of the story) but for the dancing. Mia Frye is inspirational. I watched this movie with my 5 year old daughter and it gave her lots of dance ideas which she added to her repertoire (as best she could). It's not classic ballet or choreographed Broadway Musical stuff, but a bit more wild, more basic and definitely electrifying.
The story line is not bad either. If you've seen "Children of a Lesser God" and had a connection with that plot, you might get a connection with this one. Without writing any details to spoil the story, I thought there were a few provocative twists dealing with communication and "being creative" as a mute. One was the Dancer's ability to engage a class of children without speaking (her part time job). The job discrimination part of the plot was realistic and educational. And in particular the synergy between a geek with a crush and the artist, well it was sweet, without being too sappy and ended in a fairly provocative finale. Not an action movie, most guys would probably label it a chick flick, but might like it for the sexuality in the dance numbers.
I've been trying to purchase it but have had a lot of difficulty finding it. I found a place out of Hong Kong, but then you get tangled up in the DVD region coding system.