Baleias de Agosto

This 1987 film is truly remarkable in its own small way. The film centers on a beautiful and simple story about the bonds of sisters, the disappointments of life, and the waning days of one last summer on the coast of Maine.

The legendary, and I mean LEGENDARY, Lillian Gish stars here at age 93 as Sarah. Having appeared in about 120 films over an incredible span of 75 years (1912-87), Gish goes about her business of being an actress with great dignity and skill. There are several quiet scenes in which she talks to old photographs as she cleans or fixes up her hair and makeup. She's truly enchanting.

The legendary Bette Davis doesn't fare quite as well playing the harsh Libby. Davis (post- stroke) is certainly easy to believe as the flinty sister who is blind and bitter. Davis was almost 80 here and had also racked up about 120 films, dating from 1931.

As Tisha, Ann Sothern (more than 100 films) earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination as the nosy, pushy friend who hasn't quite given up on life. Sothern started as a dancer in films in 1927 as a delicate blonde beauty. Vincent Price (almost 180 films from 1938) plays the charming drifter (and foreigner) who may be looking for a new place to live. And Harry Carey, Jr. (son of Harry Carey, a cowboy star in silent films) plays the fixit man who wants to install a picture window.

There's little action here as the sisters squabble about daily routines and long-ago events in their lives. Gish is ever hopeful while Davis is always mistrusting. The 4 stars work well together although the age differences are apparent. Davis uses her usual Boston voice; Sothern tries out a pretty good "down east" accent. Price plays a Russian émigré, and Gish speaks in her own voice.

The feeling of 50s Maine is just right. The house, perched on a small cliff looking out to sea, looks right. The island (this was filmed in Casco Bay) is gorgeous and captures the simplicity of old Maine just perfectly. The atmosphere is windy and overgrown and rocky. It's the Maine of my childhood.

This marks the final film appearance of Gish and Sothern. While Sothern was the only one to win an Oscar nomination, she, along with Gish and Price, won Independent Spirit nominations. What a pity that Gish did not win Oscar recognition for this role and for her astonishing longevity in film. Gish earned only one Oscar nomination (for DUEL IN THE SUN) and an honorary award in 1971.

Gish did win the best actress award from the National Board of Review.

This was the last film of Lillian Gish and it has to be the most graceful exit an actor or actress has ever had. All screen legends should have the dignity of their last film being this touching. This story is about two elderly sisters who are staying in their family cottage on the coast of Maine. Lillian Gish plays Sarah Webber the oldest of the two and she is caring for her sister Libby Strong (Bette Davis) who is blind and maybe in the early stages of senility. They have a neighbor and life long friend in Tisha (Ann Sothern) who suggests to Sarah that she might want to think of selling the old cottage. An acquantance named Mr. Maranov (Vincent Price) asks to fish on their shore but he really is fishing around for a place to live. He is of European nobility and full of stories but he has no money and seems to exist on the kindness of others. Both Sarah and Libby are widows and frequently relate events of the past to each other. The film is directed by Lindsay Anderson who usually makes satirical English films and this was his first American feature. He does an adequate job but he has the sense of just allowing the camera to catch every emotion these actors convey. This is not a great film but it is a very special one. Its a very simple story but thats just fine, something extra special doesn't have to be happening for this film to work. Gish was an amazing 93 when she made this and even at that age she showed she could carry a film and display an incredible amount of energy. She still had that girlish nature about her and her performance is a revelation. Davis was also incredibly strong but she suffered from having to recite some unbelievable dialogue. I didn't quite buy the scene where she comes out of her bedroom saying she had a dream about her and Sarah. But her best moments come in the quieter scenes. When Davis is gazing at nothing and thinking about her future you can only guess what is going on in her head. I thought she was at her best when the camera would just focus in on her face and she didn't speak. These two actress's were very different in their personalities and Davis was very difficult to work with later in her career. But I read a wonderful thing about the wrapping of this film. When the shooting was done Bette walked over to Lillian Gish and gave her a hug of mutual respect. It was high praise to have a cantankerous Bette Davis show that type of respect. Of course, Gish could charm anyone. She spent her career doing it. For you trivia buffs, Ann Sotherns real life daughter Tisha Sterling (Valley of the Giants) plays her as a young woman and Mary Steenburgen plays a young Sarah. This film is a must for all film buffs.

few great old actors. the last film of Lilian Gish. and the poetry of images. a film like a puzzle of memories. because the story is only excuse for a special meeting. so, dialogs about small pieces of life, expectation of a magic moment, old love stories and the past as axis of present, facts who are just ash circles and visits who covers an ice time. all - touching and delicate and beautiful and , in few aspects, unique. I adore the film not for itself. but for the nostalgia who represents its base. for the shadows of roles of each actor. for the force of Bette Davies who is not a surprise. for Lilian Gish and her precious career. for the charm of Vincent Price who seems be in The Whales of August the resume of his roles. for the light, for the sky, for the small gestures, for dialogs, for the flavor of bones of youth, for a love story who is dream or memory for everyone. a film of old things. that is its great virtue. maybe, that was its original purpose.

This movie is very slight and quiet and beautiful. There is some of the best cinematography you've ever seen, as the Maine coastline is used to full advantage and you can smell the sea breezes. In a movie like this, you appreciate it even more, because the characters keep talking about what a beautiful day it is, and you get to see what they mean.

As a previous comment mentions, the actors in this movie have hundreds of years of screen time between them, so you know you are in good hands. Lillian Gish is still one of the great beauties of the movies; even at this late age, she was still glowing. Bette Davis had already suffered a stroke so she looks very frail and thin. Last time she had an on-screen sister, Joan Crawford in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"?, they quarreled also, though obviously in a different way. Lillian and Bette get on each others nerves the way family members tend to do without even trying very hard.

Ann Sothern and Vincent Price make impressions in smaller parts and Sothern deserved her nomination, though Gish should have gotten one, too, and that would have been a fitting tribute to one of the pioneers of cinema.

This is a delightful piece set on the magnificent shores of New England's Atlantic Ocean, with an absolutely unrepeatable cast. Starring not only Bette Davis and Lilian Gish, alone worth anybody's money, well advanced into the autumn of their years, but also a very welcome Vincent Price, and a magnificent Ann Sothern together with her real daughter, Tisha Sterling.

A slow sensitive story in which each one looks back on life from differing perspectives; as usual, Bette Davis is in a dominating rôle, which, despite her advanced years, carries off quite well; Lillian Gish is just superb, lending that toned-down equanimous nature of hers which pervades the whole atmosphere of the film. And as the film develops around their house and in the garden and on the cliff-tops looking out to sea in earnest attempts to see the whales making their way south, the quiet contemplativeness of the film holds you. This is a film you will cherish and savour long afterwards. Which is why it is in my video collection since 1993 and why IMDb contributors 15 years on are still commenting on this heart-warming piece, half a dozen of them only so far this year.

So as to make a contrast, I suggest that impressive classic 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?' (1962), with Bette Davis playing against Joan Crawford: an intense dramatic piece.

Just a few weeks after being invited to the San Sebastián Film Festival – her last public engagement – Bette Davis died, as has Lillian Gish: unrepeatable.