Quando vennero le balene

On a remote, desolate island off the British coast, a community lives a hand to mouth existence, celebrating when passing yachts come to grief so they can scavenge the wood. They celebrate more when a pod of narwhales are beached, knowing they can eat in style for weeks. As the islanders ready themselves to butcher the whales, an elderly hermit appears to warn of danger if the whales are harmed, remembering an earlier time when the slaughter of a pod of stranded whales was followed by disaster.

Good performances all round, led by Paul Scofield and Helen Mirren. This is certainly not a film to get your adrenalin going but "When the Whales Came" is worthy of a viewing; for the acting, the scenery and the whales.

This charming 1989 film was shown recently on cable. Not ever having seen it, or known about it, one realizes what a shame it is not to have been show to a wider audience. "When the Whales Came" is a wonderful film that should be seen by children, as it will charm and involve them in a positive way. Director Clive Rees does a wonderful job in adapting Michael Marpago's novel, in which it's based.

The story takes place in the remote, but beautiful Scilly islands. They are inhabited by people that eke a life out of a hostile environment. Two children, Gracie and Daniel are intrigued by the mysterious man, the Birdman, who lives in a remote shack, but who sensing their curiosity, begins leaving them a few of his wood carvings. As they get to meet the man, he encourages them to follow his example. Then one day, whales beach themselves and the Birdman pleads with the children and the other folks to help him in getting these gentle giants back into the ocean where they belong.

It's a sweet story made even better by Paul Scofield, who as the Birdman makes a fabulous contribution to the film. Mr.Scofield, an actor's actor, is rarely seen on the screen and one rejoices in seeing this magnificent actor in the film. Helen Mirren is also seen as the mother of one of the children. The children, Helen Pearce and Max Rennie are delightful. Also seen in the film, David Suchet, Barbara Jefford, Jeremy Kemp and David Threlfall, among others.

An inspired film that will satisfy any audience thanks to the treatment Mr. Rees gave everything.

This is a superb film, designed for the entire family. A fascinating script, first-rate acting, glorious scenery (shot on location in remote islands off of England), and memorable music help make this film a classic. It is set in 1914, and World War One plays a role in the story. But the time is basically irrelevant; the place is not. The story is about a legendary curse, a man who survived it, and an opportunity to lift it, focusing on the destruction and preservation of an extremely rare form of whale.

At its conclusion, I asked my wife, "How could a film like this be made today?" I still don't know. But let us give thanks that we still have enough imagination and basic decency to film a fairy tale with messages that are eternal. It remains an incredible artistic scandal that a movie of this quality has not appeared on DVD.

To celebrate my 1,900th review for IMDB, I turn to another of my favourite films. The Isles of Scilly, which form the south-westernmost point of the British Isles, are an archipelago of small islands off the coast of Cornwall. Five of the islands, St Mary's, St Martin's, St Agnes, Tresco and Bryher are inhabited, but until the mid- 19th century there was also a small population living on a sixth island, Samson. In reality the inhabitants of Samson were evicted by Augustus Smith, the autocratic Lord Proprietor of the islands, who wanted to turn the island into a deer park, but Michael Morpurgo, the author of the children's book on which this film is based, had a much more poetic theory about how it came to be depopulated. (Morpurgo's book is called "Why the Whales Came", but this was altered slightly for the film).

Today the main industries of the Scillies are tourism and growing flowers, particularly daffodils, for the cut-flower market, but during the 1910s, when the action of this film takes place, life on the islands was hard. The inhabitants survive on fishing and small-scale subsistence agriculture. The central characters are Gracie Jenkins and Daniel Pender, two children living on the island of Bryher, who befriend a reclusive elderly man known as "the Birdman". (His real name is Mr Woodcock; in the book his Christian name was Zachariah, but this is not used in the film). The Birdman is shunned by the other inhabitants of Bryher, partly because they believe him to be mad but also because he is the last surviving native of Samson, which he left as a small boy. The people of Bryher avoid Samson, which they believe to be an accursed place, haunted by the ghosts of its former residents. When war breaks out, the Birdman comes under greater suspicion than ever, because the locals believe him to be a German spy.

Of course, the Birdman proves to be far from mad, and certainly not a spy. Indeed, he is probably the sanest person on the island. It is from him that we learn how Samson came to be cursed and why its inhabitants were forced to leave. (And in this version it was something very different from the whims of an eccentric landowner). He treats Daniel and Gracie like the children or grandchildren he never had and he in turn becomes their trusted friend and confidant. He is a talented woodcarver, and teaches his skills to the children. The crisis of the story comes when, after a storm, a narwhal is discovered stranded on the beach. The people of Bryher want to slaughter it, and other members of its pod should they come ashore, but the Birdman and the children desperately try to dissuade them.

The late Paul Scofield was one of the major names of the British acting profession, but most of his work was for the stage and he made comparatively few films. Film buffs will probably know him best for his masterly performance as Thomas More in "A Man for All Seasons", but the one he gives here can stand comparison with it. Of the other adult cast members the best is probably Helen Mirren as Gracie's mother, but special mention must also be made of the enchanting Helen Pearce and Max Rennie as the two children. Another feature of the film is its strikingly beautiful photography of the islands.

The plot is a simple one, reminiscent of a folk tale. Deceptively simple, because Morpurgo is able to use it to explore some surprisingly deep themes- relationships between man and nature, relationships between the generations, the treatment of those like the Birdman who are thought to be "alien" to the mainstream of the community within which they live and the origins and nature of violence. These themes are seen to be interrelated; there are clear parallels between on the one hand the islanders' hostility towards the Birdman, partly rooted in the fact that he is originally from another island less than a mile away, and their threatened violence towards the narwhals, and on the other the mutual hostility between the British and the Germans and the violence to which it has led.

I have never really known why "When the Whales Came" is so little known; I note that it has only received thirteen earlier reviews. To my mind it is one of the great movies made during the remarkable renaissance of the British cinema industry of the 1980s, able to stand comparison with the likes of "The Elephant Man", "Chariots of Fire", "The Mission", "A Private Function" and "Shirley Valentine". Perhaps adults tend to dismiss it as "a children's film", but there is a lot here (as there is in Morpurgo's book) that deals with some very adult concerns. 10/10

I've often thought the British TV audience is the most privileged on earth...they get programming that would make up most of our movie award season. We can take for granted a level of excellence of performance and execution that is unmatched anywhere.

When the Whales Came is a fable, certainly...but I think the message is that we need to care for the creatures of the earth, or we will be cursed for our cruelty and exploitation...The whales here are all creatures, and the curse is only lifted when humans do the right thing to protect them.

Here we have startlingly beautiful landscapes, ecstatic music, and people that are poor and struggling for survival...Indulgence in wonder at the natural world is considered eccentric and childish - until the old man and the children show the villagers the way. We might follow as well.