Earlier today, I saw two movies. One moved me to tears; the other helped me forget those tears for a few hours. The first movie I saw was Whale Rider. It’s a story about an 11 year old girl (Pai) who is destined to become the Chief of her small fishing community in New Zealand. However, her grandfather (Koro) is too stubborn to see this as he does not want to break with tradition. In their culture, only males can be (have been) Chiefs. When Koro’s own son looses his wife and son (Pai’s twin brother) at birth, he tells him to start over again. But his son ignores Koro’s wishes. Thus, through a series of events the grandfather eventually comes around and Pai takes her rightful place within the community. It’s a touching story that is so engrossing and emotionally charged that few left the theatre without tears in their eyes. I myself was sobbing throughout much of the film. It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long long time. I highly recommend that everyone take the time to go see it. The second movie I saw was The Italian Job. Not much to say about this remake of the 1969 robbery heist film but that it was widely entertaining even though somewhat predictable. As such, go see Whale Rider. It’s too good a movie to miss while in theatres. The same cannot be said for The Italian Job.