The Whale

2011

Action / Documentary

6
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 83% · 22 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 83% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 8.1/10 10 780 780

whale underwater killer whale woman director orca

Plot summary

The true story of a young, wild killer whale - an orca - nicknamed Luna, who lost contact with his family on the coast of British Columbia and turned up alone in a narrow stretch of sea between mountains, a place called Nootka Sound.

Director

Suzanne Chisholm Photo
Suzanne Chisholm

Top cast

Ryan Reynolds Photo
Ryan Reynolds as Self - Narrator
Ken Balcomb Photo
Ken Balcomb as Self
Suzanne Chisholm Photo
Suzanne Chisholm as Self
Michael Parfit Photo
Michael Parfit as Self
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
781.14 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 25 min
Seeds 1
1.42 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 25 min
Seeds 3

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by JohnDeSando

A memorable doc

"There's more there than most of my guests." Hotel Owner Cameron ForbesI doubt if there is a more authentic and endearing documentary in recent memory than The Whale, the story of young killer whale Luna, separated in 2003 from his pod and spending six years befriending the folks who live in the Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island.The tension that makes this film more like a drama than a documentary is the dilemma of what to do with this unusually friendly Orca, which experts believe will not end up well because of its affection for humans. Or its need for community, judging from its almost constant desire to be seen, heard, and touched. Watching Luna go nose to nose with humans, letting them stroke its tongue, and virtually singing to them is to understand why even a fish and wildlife pro could violate his own division's ban on interaction.The opposing forces seem to arise naturally: those, especially natives, who want nature to take its course and those who foresee doom for the sea creature unless means such as giving him to a sea-world-type park are immediately taken. Intellectually the latter, especially the marine biologists, seem to have the better argument, but the former are powerful when they argue the whale should be allowed to do what it wants.Although most involved are powerless to effect the right solution, the occurrence of communication between humans and animal is carefully noted, an extraordinary example of a bond that seems to be built on both sides' need to understand and communicate with the other.If you see the film, I dare you to deny that you weren't moved by Luna's playing with humans and uncertain about how to solve his fate. For sure you will not remain unmoved.Praise to Ryan Reynolds as the perfect narrator not channeling Morgan Freeman. Most honors should go to filmmakers Suzanne Chisolm and Michael Parfit, who stayed with Luna through it all. Their devotion and love make this one of the most memorable documentaries ever.
Reviewed by jake-lamotta-batman 8 / 10

A good companion piece to Blackfish

I was rather surprised to come across this documentary on "The Movie Network", mainly because Ryan Reynolds (Whom I am not a fan of) seemed to be the man driving force behind the picture. The movie is a beautiful piece of film, obviously made with care. The main question of this film, for me, was how to address abandonment by whales from their pod, in other words, the rejection of the young. Albeit rare, the question remains, should they let this whale be free in the water, where he interacts with humans and floatation devices or should they encapsulate the animal in a facility like "Seasworld." I saw one review saw that the humans are the reason behind the animals split with it's pod, and it was the humans who prevented this whale from reuniting with his pod. In the film it is clear that this whale is interacting with the humans at the marina, there are points in the film where humans are trying to trick the whale to capture it to bring it to a facility, but it's also humans (Native Americans) who help prevent that. The truth is, we are just getting the technology to study these creatures the way we need to, in order to fully understand them, and although this is a story which brings joy, the ending is sad and appears to be avoidable, however to avoid it, would have to be to encapsulate it. (Either way, people who are literally insane about animal rights would blame humans for the situation, be it death or put into a facility).Finally, I ask that people watch before reviewing movies, especially on a film like this, where Blackfish gets a lot of attention, it didn't ask the right questions. When dealing with animal rights, people become insane, but you have to be able to look at the reality of the situation.
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