Not suitable under 8; parental guidance to 10 (themes, violence)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to themes and violence. |
Children aged 8–10 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes and violence. |
Children over the age of 10 | Ok for this age group. |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Whina |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes |
Length: | 112 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The first born child in a long line of chiefs, Whina (Miriama McDowell) was meant to be a boy – a boy who was allowed to have a voice; a boy who was able to fight for the rights of his downtrodden people – a boy who would be respected by the simple fact of his gender. But Whina was a girl – a girl who became educated; a girl with a voice that demanded she be heard; a girl who commanded the respect of her people; a girl who was willing to fight for what she believed in; a girl with foresight and courage and compassion – a girl who inspired a nation. A girl who would live to become a legend.
With vast areas of Maori land being taken over by white settlers, with British promises and treaties being repeatedly broken, more and more Maori families were being forced off their ancestral land and were facing lives of destitution and hopelessness. Whina understood what was happening to her people in ways that most couldn’t see and she had the wisdom and organisational skills to put measures in place to help secure and work the land of her ancestors. When tragic events forced Whina to flee from her community, she would eventually return, along with her second husband William (Vinnie Bennett), in an effort to help save the land and restore cultural pride to her community. When William dies trying to protect what they were working to build, Whina and her children find themselves homeless and back in the city where she soon learns just how precarious life can be for her people. She helps organise a relief association and, over the years, makes the government take notice of its Maori citizens. In her 80’s, suffering from crippling arthritis, Whina (Rena Owen) leads a march from one end of her country to Parliament at the other, inspiring countless people who join her along the way. This peaceful march gains international attention, eventually grants land rights back to the Maori people and ultimately changes the course of New Zealand history.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Racism; Poverty; Discrimination; Gender inequality; Injustice; Adultery; Death.
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in this movie, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
Whina is the heartfelt, biographical story of the life of Dame Whina Cooper. The film features fabulous performances set against the beautiful backdrop of striking New Zealand countryside and contains powerful messages about courage, determination and composure in the face of overwhelming obstacles and opposition. The film will be most enjoyed by older, mature audiences.
The main messages from this movie are that all choices have consequences; that if you want things to change you must be willing to make that change happen; that a woman can be just as powerful as a man; that great things are accomplished when you work together; and that the impossible can be achieved if you just persevere.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children the importance of respecting other cultures and communities (and understanding the history), especially of the indigenous people of different regions as they have often endured unimaginable hardship and injustice.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
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Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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ABN: 16 005 214 531