Whale Rider. (B-) This is a movie from New Zealand. Paikea is a little girl who lives with her grandparents. Her grandfather is a crusty old guy who’s all into preserving the traditions of the Maori people. Although Paikea loves the Maori tradition, probably more than all the boys that her grandfather is trying to instruct, that same tradition forbids her from learning the skills to be a warrior and a chief just because she’s a girl!!! You can see where this is going. Anyway, it was a decent clash-of-generations kind of movie, and the little girl who plays Paikea does a terrific job of portraying a girl who loves her grandfather very much even though he constantly wounds her with his disappointment that she is not a boy.