Whale Rider is a picturesque coming-of-age film, based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera, that tells the story of “Pai” who is the only living child in a Maori chief’s line of succession. Pai’s male twin died at birth. In accordance with community legends, Pai’s twin would have served the natural succession of the village chief, Pai’s grandfather. The film centers on young Pai’s painful and often lonely struggle to help fulfill her role in her Maori people’s prophecies. At the heart of the movie is Pai’s complex relationship with her grandfather, “old Paka”. Pai’s commitment to her sense of destiny threatens the age-old gender roles of her village. Through the power of Pai’s people’s music, poetry, and traditions, Whale Rider depicts a community’s struggle to hold on to its values as it strives to stay dynamic and strong in the complexities of modern times. In an era when aboriginal children and families throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S. continue to experience enduring identity challenges and heightened rates of despondency and kinship fragmentation, Whale Rider provides a narrative of individual and community transformation.