Directed by James Napier Robertson, Paula Whetu Jones
The story of Dame Whina Cooper, the beloved Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. Flawed yet resilient, Whina tells the story of a woman formed by tradition, compelled by innovation, and guided by an instinct for equality and justice whose legacy as the Te Whaea o te Motu (Mother of the Nation) was an inspiration to an entire country.
New ZealandPG 
AustraliaM Australia New Zealand 
ill be hyped when my kids watch this in level one NCEA history
You can tell everyone on this was sweating to live up to Whina's legacy, and it shows in a good way, but that's also kind of the problem with it? Whina was a woman with so much mana and historical signifigance, and this conveys that, but it feels like every line of dialogue is trying to get into the trailer, to be clipped and quoted in essays and kōrero, to Sum Up The Struggles Of Māori In The 20th Century Succinctly. Lots of little lines and moments here and there would convey it, but every line is trying to be Big! And the actors are being encouraged to deliver every line as a Big Deal! Because Whina is A Big…
He tēnei te tino hītori nui o Aotearoa. Ahakoa he rongonui, kāore e mohio te kōrero kā tākata katoa. He tino pai, tino tika me tino ataahua hoki te kiriata nei.
Whina's been making a list of whose been naughty and nice cause the Pākehā have been fucking over too many people.
Very good. An essential piece of cinema Aotearoa. Packed with powerhouse performances, though it’s Miriama McDowell’s feast and she chows down on every big and subtle moment.
Perhaps it’s unavoidably scattershot in its unfocused narrative, as is the curse with every life-n-times biopic not wanting to stray too far from truth. A part of me wonders if, like Selma, keeping the plot locked on the hikoi would’ve resulted in a better paced, harder hitting, and more memorable film. Or if covering more of whaea’s life (and those around her) as a miniseries would have made for a more fulfilling experience.
Still, this film nonetheless had its impactful and memorable moments. Definitely won’t forget McDowell’s twisting relationship with the priest, Rena Owen dropping two octaves for one mighty “e noho,” or the criss-crossing of eras that illustrate the land struggle so vividly.
Miriama McDowell truly is the standout in this, her performance was awe-inspiring. SEVERELY UNDERRATED I saw 800 watches and almost audibly gasped, its not a masterpiece but I recommend it to whoever sees this.
Ngā mihi nui ki a koe i tō mahi whaea Whina.
Maybe Rena is going to get that acting award she was robbed of all those years ago. Hopefully Miriama & Tioreore are going to go on to have illustrious careers.
Maybe more New Zealanders will want to learn more of our history and accept all the wrongs that have been done against its indigenous people.
Dana Lund's score was spectacular.
My heart was in my puku by the films end.
He wahine toa. He wahine kaha.
Revised to 4.5
Really great and inspiring film. Not much to say, just really well done and I'd highly recommend it. Fantastic performance from Miriama McDowell. Also really loved how all the time periods captured here were very natural and not overdone like in many American films.
Beautiful film about an incredible wahine (whom Im embarrassed I knew next to nothing about until today).
Could’ve been a little more focused at points and would’ve liked to have seen more from her more formative years. As in, could’ve been cool to have shown what drove her activism early on - how and why did she become who she became, sort of a thing.
But overall highly moving and informative - the sort of film that should probably be shown in New Zealand schools.
AFF 2022 #12
Whina is a biopic of legendary New Zealand land rights and womens rights activist Whina Cooper. It chronicles her life story and all the struggles she faced from inside and outside of the Māori community.
This is an important story about an important human being that needed telling, and I think the film mostly does it justice. I do think it’s a very stock standard biopic that never deviates from the cliches but it packs its punches where needed.
Everyone who plays Whina at various stages of her life does a solid job, and it’s always great seeing James Rolleston on screen. I do think the structure was unnecessarily messy and I wish it gave more attention to specific periods of Whina’s life, rather than the usual biopic ‘birth-to-death’ retelling.
support indigenous storytelling 👏
NGĀTI KURI MENTIONED RAAAAAAAHHHHH
