Whale Rider

Although "Whale Rider" had some important and significant morals to take away from it, overall I didn't think it was a great movie. Good but not great.
I liked the fact that the main character, Pai, was determined and persevered to reach her goal and that she went "against the flow" of her culture in that she was a girl who wanted to be a leader (which was not allowed). She showed incredible leadership skills like faith, compassion, hope, kindness and the will and drive to persist even though it was against the odds that she would succeed. I also though that the fact that she was a girl was a really good touch because often stories tell of guys that grow up to be leaders and show their strength and courage but here we have Pai who isn't just your average "damsel in distress". She sticks up for herself and fights for what she believes in which is a model we would all do well to follow.
What I didn't like was partly the slow plot line but mostly the fact that I was unable to relate to it. I thought it was interesting to be able to see and learn about their culture but it was so different that it made it hard for me to connect with the story. I found the "whale calling" thing a little bit odd and some of their rituals as well. Another thing I didn't like was the lack of responsibility coming from a lot of the characters, mainly Pai's father and grandfather. Her father leaves her in the care of her grandparents at birth and although I agree that he should be able to lead whatever kind of life he wants that doesn't mean he can abandon his biggest responsibility...his only child. And then the grandfather is too arrogant to realize that he has the best leader possible living in his own house and he needs to teach her and encourage her and be proud of her instead of shutting her down every time she tries to help or learn.
So taking all of that into consideration as well as other things, I would say that this movie, on a scale of 1 to 10, deserves a 6.5 or maybe even a 7. It was good but there was plenty of room for improvement.