Salvem as Baleias

This one sneaked up on me a Thursday afternoon and the Fox Movie Channel tossed it in. God bless 'em for that. Hope they repeat it soon. (They have that tendency).

This film about life on a remote, barren English island during WWI (it is by no means a war flick) is, in words of one, MAGNIFICENT. The direction, superb photography, excellent music (unobtrusive, unlike too many of today's noisy movies) and the acting all combined to choke you up, or bring tears to your eyes, depending on your level of emotion.

This well told, beautiful tale has the big plus of some fine, fine performers, particularly the youngsters Helen Pearce and Max Rennie. For whatever ungodly reason neither of these two achieved any kind of fame. Young Max only made one other movie, "Hard Road," while Helen did nothing else.

Both youngsters received the Young Artists Award, an honorary but justified recognition.

Paul Scofield and Helen Mirren the entire cast were heavily responsible for the success of this G-rated movie.

The accents were not too heavy so, no problem in understanding. It was a tad slow at first, but that is nit-picking. Overall, it can be rated as one of the best movies of its kind hell, any kind ever made.

When the Whales Came, based upon Michael Morpurgo's charming story, is a beautiful well-meaning film, that I do think is worthy of a lot more praise than it is given. The cinematography and scenery were gorgeous, and so was the enchanting music score. The part when the villagers drive the Narwhal into the sea was such a poignant moment. The script was fine and so was the direction and the acting. The two children are believable, and Helen Mirren and David Suchet, two exceptional actors give fine support. Though the real kudos have to go to Paul Scofield, who was fantastic, and to Jeremy Kemp as Mr Wellbeloved, who wasn't only warm and loving towards the children, but it was also an altogether sensitive portrayal. My only minor complaint with the movie was the pace, it was a tad slow, but overall this film is beautiful. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I found this film a decent watch. The pace is a little slow in parts and towards the end, it has a darker tone to it and becomes somewhat thought provoking, due to what comes to light. It made me think about the consequences of things that people end up involved in - there's definitely a strong element of social morality and conscience. There's an allegorical side to it, with the film set on a seemingly somewhat idyllic island, when there are some less than lovely things going on. Nothing awful - just a bit grim and we learn about peoples recollections of history and the like. I liked that it had, ultimately, a sense of optimism - something we could do with more of, frankly.

From a film perspective, I enjoyed seeing Helen Mirren in a film from the late 80s (which this is). I hadn't seen her in many roles from over 2 decades ago - thats why I decided to watch this film. The music isn't too 'in your face' I'd say, its perhaps a little over sentimentalised maybe, but only just - it certainly didn't put me off the film to any large extent. It also pushes home the optimistic elements of the story, which was nice. Overall I'd say its worth a watch.

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.

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