Memorable quotes for
Whale Rider (2002) More at IMDbPro »

Paikea: Why doesn't he want me?
Porourangi: He's just looking for something that doesn't exist anymore.
Paikea: A new leader? They exist.

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Paikea: It's not Koro's fault, that I'm a girl.

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Porourangi: Her name is Paikea.
Koro: No, not that name.

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Paikea: My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs.

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Koro: When she was born, that's when things went wrong for us.

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Paikea: A long time ago, my ancestor Paikea came to this place on the back of a whale. Since then, in every generation of my family, the first born son has carried his name and become the leader of our tribe... until now.

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Koro: Wise leader, forgive me. I am only a fledgling new to flight.

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[about her brother]
Paikea: They were waiting for their new leader... but he died.

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Paikea: Maori women have got to stop smoking. We've got to protect our childbearing properties.

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Koro: If you have the tooth of a whale, you must have the jaw of a whale to yield it.

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[first lines]
Paikea: In the old days, the land felt a great emptiness. It was waiting. Waiting to be filled up. Waiting for someone to love it. Waiting for a leader.
[child birth scene]
Paikea: And he came on the back of a whale. A man to lead a new people. Our ancestor, Paikea. But now we were waiting for the firstborn of the new generation, for the descendant of the whale rider. For the boy who would be chief.
Paikea: There was no gladness when I was born. My twin brother died, and took our mother with him.

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Paikea: I wasn't scared to die.

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[last lines]
Paikea: My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the whale rider. I'm not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of their strength.

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