Continuity mistake: When the villagers are joining the old chief on the beach, to see all the beached whales, it is raining heavily, yet his face and suit are completely dry.
Continuity mistake: During the scene on the beach (with the beached whales), right after Paka has learned that it was his granddaughter that brought back the whale's tooth, there are two shots of him from the same angle with one in between. In the first shot on the hill far behind him there are two people standing there, yet in the second shot they are gone.
Continuity mistake: When the girl has been crying and the father is comforting her, he wipes the tears from her face. In some shots, you can see where he wiped the tear, in other shots, you see a tear that has tricked down to her chin, and in some shots, she has a tear that hasn't travelled so far.
Answer: No, she doesn't die. Summary from Wikipedia: Paikia climbs onto the back of the largest whale and coaxes it to re-enter the ocean. The whale leads the whale pod back into the sea; Paikia submerges completely underwater before being thrown off the whale's back by the tide. The spectators fear she has drowned. When Paikia is found alive and brought to the hospital, her grandfather, Koro, declares her the new tribal chief. At the end, Paikia and her family are on the beach, watching the completed canoe being launched into the sea for its maiden voyage.
raywest ★