The Whale Caller

Ermanus Cove? The popular South African whale-spotting destination is the setting for this unusual coming-of-age fantasy romance drama about a man who must decide between his first love, a whale named Sarisha, and a wandering soul named Saluni. Beautiful natural vistas and moody backdrops become the mystical setting for the alternate reality of The Whale Caller.

Operating within the genre of magic realism, Maseko stitches the grit of social realism with the child-like wonder of fantasy. Harsh realities such as alcoholism, bad language and forbidden romance are scattered by a pure, playful and delightful innocence. While you can see what co-writers, Maseko and Mda, were aiming for... the result falls well short of their lofty ambitions.

When I read the description of this movie, I thought I'd give it a chance. It can't be as weird as the it's described. Can it? Yep. Trust me, this is one strange tale. Maybe it's a parable or something, but the secret meaning sure evaded me. Lovely scenes of South Africa, however. I kind of enjoyed it until about 20 minutes till the ending. Then it got pretty depressing.