Spiritual girl power

By KATHERINE TULICH

LOS ANGELES - John and Diana Mack of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles were so impressed with New Zealand film Whale Rider that they were back to see it the next day at the Santa Monica cinemaplex with their three children.

"We had to bring the kids back - we thought it was so great. But we had to talk them into it, they wanted to go and see X-Men 2," said John Mack.

Their 12-year-old son, Eric, certainly didn't seem to regret sacrificing a few mutant humans and special effects for the small fishing village of Whangara. "It was more realistic. It's a nice change from X-Men - more emotional and more religious."

"It's good to learn something about other people's cultures. It makes me want to go to New Zealand," said young Eric.

The Macks were drawn to Whale Rider after reading the glowing review the film received in last week's Los Angeles Times where their critic, Kenneth Turan, wrote: "Whale Rider has been something of a sensation on the international film festival circuit, winning audience awards at such diverse and influential festivals as Sundance, Toronto, Rotterdam and San Francisco. Yet far from over-hyping the project, all those honours turn out not to do justice to this significant and surprising film."

Whale Rider opened on nine screens in Los Angeles and New York last week and will open in seven more cities on June 20 with a national roll-out by July 4, the peak of summer school holidays in the United States.

"The key to this film is to start out small and let people discover it,"says Bob Burnie who operates New Market Films. Burnie bought the North American rights to the film at last year's Toronto Film Festival. "I fell in love with the movie and snapped it up straight away," he says.

Well Burnie should know a good thing. He was responsible for marketing that little film last year called My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which has now become in terms of independent films, a phenomenon.

While Burnie does not predict Greek's US$100 million plus box office, he still thinks Whale Rider has great box office potential in the US.

"A lot of times an independent film is considered a success if it tops US$1 million, but I can easily see Whale Rider surpassing US$20 million," Burnie predicts. That would put it leap years ahead of its Kiwi export predecessor, Once Were Warriors which took in about US$2 million.

Burnie sees Whale Rider's American appeal as that magic blend of "a great spiritual film that has an exotic location yet carries the old-fashioned Hollywood appeal of a Karate Kid where you are sitting there wanting the girl to win".

With the mesmerising performance of newcomer 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes in the lead role, Whale Rider is also in tune with the latest batch of female empowerment movies (everything from Lizzie McGuire to Charlie's Angels), but offers up a much more substantial plate, as New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell noted in his review.

"Ms Castle-Hughes' instinctive underplaying gives Whale Rider an added gravity, with the lush remoteness of the landscape serving as an entrancing contrast to the sugar-rush, you-go-girl empowerment of programmed pandering like The Lizzie McGuire Movie, whose tweener heroine flails her arms and bats her eyes as if she were sending distress signals. The director demonstrates a class and tact that brands Whale Rider, which opens today in New York and Los Angeles, as more than a time-filler for young moviegoers or an ironman competition for adults accompanying them."

Ellie Speare, another cinema patron at the Santa Monica cineplex agrees: "The other films are more like kick-ass empowerment, not spiritual empowerment. This has much more substance to it."

While New Zealand was firmly placed on the North American cinema goer's radar with Lord of the Rings, Whale Rider is offering a more personal view of the country.

"What a breath of fresh air. It's a trip I have always planned, but I didn't know much about the culture," said Francine Sterle from Minnesota, who made sure she saw the film while visiting LA.

"You see a lot of pictures of the scenery and the fabulous countryside but not much about the culture. It makes me want to go there even more."

The premieres that were held before the film's release in LA and New York heavily featured New Zealand as a destination with food, wine and music. The cast were in attendance, as well as kaumatua Hone Tamanui, who served as an adviser on the film.

Patrons at screenings in New York over the weekend were also greeted by traditional Maori music and performances outside the theatre.

Investment NZ, which is based in LA, saw the film as a perfect opportunity to push New Zealand as a location and also for its film-making talents.

"It demonstrates that New Zealand has a lot to offer, not just locations," says Catherine Regan from Investment NZ. "It's an excellent example of what can be done in terms of the technical expertise and the on-screen talent. I think it proves you don't need a major studio down there to make a film."

With the buzz growing daily on Whale Rider the film may prove to be the David against the Goliath of Hollywood blockbuster releases this summer. Says cinema patron John Mack: "This movie will do very well. All of our friends are already talking about it. I think they have a big hit on their hands."