Backbencher

This story opens with the birth and subsequent death of the heir apparent to the title of a chief of the Maori people- an infant. The current chief is the grandfather of the child (the mother is also lost in the childbirth) but a twin girl survives. The elder chief is ready to retire, one cannot help but think that he should have done so long ago, but his own first born son rejected the opportunity to be the next chief and has gone on to pursue his own life in another direction. This leaves the older chief quite dejected over the loss of the first born son (of his own first born son) who would have been the next potential heir. The girl, rejected continually by the stubborn grandfather, learns the traditions of the ancient ones, the skills (despite the lack of encouragement) including a form of fighting with a stick... taught to her by the second born son of the elder chief. This is against the will of the elder chief- but it gives one pause to reflect that the second born son probably would have done well enough to take over as the next chief. This was not destined to happen, as the elder chief would not have stood for it. In the elder chiefs mind, there is no room for deviation from traditional lineage of power, from first born son to first born son, generation after generation, into pertuity. The elder chief seems to be continually missing opportunities to hand off his title despite his reluctance to continue to retain it.

The second born son is bypassed (The girls's uncle) and the elder chief seeks out a new chief amongst the boys of the village who might posess the willingness to learn the knowledge and skills required for leadership. Due to his own ingrained prejedices and unwillingness to be flexible on his traditional beliefs, the grand daughter is continually rejected and ignored until the climax of the film- the grandfather finally excepts the grand daughter as the next leader when she proves herself via exceptional acts, including recovery of a traditional object from the deep and a reinactment of a legendary whale riding incident.

This is quite a remarkable transformation, because the grandfather is portrayed as a difficult, obsessed man with no room in his mindset for anything but his own belief system.

The film is rich in location shots, you can learn a few Moari words, as well as view traditional Moari life- though I am not quite sure where the traditional seperates from "made for television" behavior.

I have no idea what the traditional seperation might be between boys and girls, what is exceptable and what is not in the Moari culture. I had previously been under the impression that the Moari women do NOT view themselves as an underclass and perhaps this is correct. Whether it is the case or not, this film seems to be of the bent that girls may be viewed as unequal by society, but can excel despite the efforts by a dominant male stereotype to keep them down. This seems to be a dominant theme- the rolling over from the old to a new cultural exceptance of the girl.

It would certainly make the film more marketable in America to have such a moral. As is often the case with films, I wonder if this represents a real situation of dominant male / submissive female in the Moari culture or if it is a movie with a poitical motive.

Either way, its a pretty good film, and I enjoyed it. I would be curious to know if there is a special connection between the whale and the Moari people or if this is another poitcial statement in disguise. (Save the whales!) NZ is well noted for its willingness to support environmental issues.