When an old paradigm dies, a void in time is created and that twilight space becomes a magical opportunity for all those who have been born into it. The new paradigm is still but a ray of sun on a distant horizon and it is that light that sustains us in the unknown of that suspended moment in time. Just as the power of paradox lies in the space in between solution and resolution, powerful transcendence awaits all those who feel their hearts pulled to the call of the “swing between worlds.”

Pai, the thirteen-year old heroine of Whale Rider, guides us through her own experience of that moment of transformation. She hears the call of ancient whales that draw her and us into a film that is haunting, prophetic, and groundbreaking.

Set in New Zealand, the film revolves around the conflict that arises in a Maori tribe when the wife of the male heir to the leader of the tribe dies while birthing both a boy and a girl. The boy dies, too, and in grief, the male heir disappears, breaking the traditional line of succession — and leaving his daughter to be raised by her grandparents. Pako, the grandfather and tribal leader, loves little Pai but harbors a deep sadness and sense of loss because of the absence of both his son and deceased grandson. Even though little Pai has been given the name of one of the ancient founders of the tribe, he can’t for a moment even consider that perhaps she is the one destined to lead the tribe. She is, after all, “just a girl,” and the culture of the tribe very clearly requires a first-born, male heir.

Undaunted, Pai lives in that magnificent loneliness of vision that enfolds those who have chosen to be mapmakers and have only their inner guidance to comfort them as they move inexorably toward their destiny. Pai loves and deeply respects her grandfather, but she also knows that she is called by the whales who brought her ancestors to her tribal village to challenge the very core of the belief systems of her tribe. With no sense of anger or true “rebellion,” she nonetheless follows her heart as it leads her to learn both the physical and metaphysical traditions of her tribe, bringing her into a confrontation with her grandfather that she does not seek but cannot escape. Ultimately, Pai’s moment of grace and opportunity arrives in a moment of crisis and she is challenged by her own heart and destiny to transcend and transform her world.

We have discussed in recent months films such as Frida, The Hours, and Far from Heaven that illuminate the ascension of feminine energy in our society, and Pai now takes her rightful place with the heroines and heroes of those films as a harbinger of nothing less than the evolution of our notions of character and destiny. As Spiritual Cinema, and as powerfully as any film in recent memory in this genre, Whale Rider is a metaphor for the majesty of this epoch into which we have all chosen to be born.

For several months now, I’ve been hearing glowing, magical reports from our Spiritual Cinema Communities in Australia and New Zealand about Whale Rider and, now having seen the film, there is no question that our friends “down under” certainly know brilliance when they see it. Please go see Whale Rider. Tell your friends about it. Spread the word that a film is out there amid the clutter of summer sequels and action franchises that truly illuminates the very soul of Spiritual Cinema.

As the early days of this new millennium unfold, old traditions are changing and outdated belief systems are being challenged and dismantled. Engrained ways of thinking and responding to each other and the world around us are being confronted by courageous souls such as Pai and, as a result, our world is evolving and reaching up its arms to the approaching dawn of that new paradigm whose light bathes our faces in the reflection of the wisdom of such films as Whale Rider.

MovieMystic Chakra Rating for Whale Rider

Chakra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Rating 5 5 5 4 5 5 5

For an explanation of The Chakra Rating System, please visit www.MysticalMovies.com.