O Grande Milagre

Managed to see this on DVD from my public library. It is based in real events in 1988, but many of the characters have been fabricated or named something different from the person they were taken from.

It is outside Barrow, Alaska in the fall, cold weather is a bit early and the ice begins to freeze sooner than usual. This traps a whale pair and their young offspring.

John Krasinski is reporter Adam Carlson in Alaska and one day happens to notice something on the ice. He spots the whales repeatedly surfacing through a medium sized hole in the ice, but because it would require a 5-mile swim under ice to get free and swim south, the three whales are stranded at the hole.

Drew Barrymore is a conservationist who wants to attract more attention to saving the whales, while the local native Alaskans are thinking about "harvesting" the whales for food. Ted Danson is J. W. McGraw, a wealthy businessman wanting to drill in the Arctic, he ends up under pressure of publicity donating a hovercraft barge to be used as an ice breaker. Kristen Bell is too pretty as the California reporter Jill Jerard who ends up going there also and reporting some of the developments.

This is basically a family movie, cooperating to take care of the environment. Plus, when they were not able to get the hovercraft there the Russians ended up saving the day, using their ice breaker to free the whales, after Alaskans had used chainsaws to cut a series of holes in the ice closer and closer to the open sea, to allow the whales to make progress.

Pretty interesting movie.

Bravo for creating a refreshingly clean family movie! It's encouraging and rare these days to have an opportunity to view a film the whole family can enjoy. Big Miracle is a wholesome, educational and entertaining movie that I happily recommend to anyone struggling like we often to to find a movie suitable for the under 15 crowd, that adults will also enjoy.

Big Miracle is loosely based on a true story and utilizes TV news clips from the Reagan era that we felt made the film very realistic. Ancient traditions, multi-generational challenges, morality, ethics, friendship, love and social responsibility are weaved into a story set in beautiful Alaska that made us laugh, cry and cheer along with the characters - it was a fun adventure into a world we didn't know much about.

Big Miracle looks deceiving due to its advertising. Looking like a sappy, clichéd mess of a cash in. Even at first impression, it's deceiving. Characters like the oft-seen charismatic ex-boyfriend, the spunky animal rights activist, the street-smart young kid, the pretty fish out of water journalist, the local elderly wiseman, the mean old oil tycoon turned good guy, the unlikely geniuses who provide comic relief, and even the self-absorbed douchebag news anchor had me fearing for its quality.

However, something about this true story just sticks. The script is overly clichéd, but there's a surprising heart and lack of cheap corniness to it that feels more honest than its sappy sounding premise may let on. It also boasts another surprising element: actual intelligence. It may not be groundbreaking, but it's done plenty of justice by an excellent cast. Even if it's not always focused, the powerful ending is happily earned, adding up to a satisfying family drama.

***1/2 / *****

Yes, there were simplistic clichés, but for a PG-rated movie and the confines therein, Big Miracle is about as good as it can get. The Inupiat people, the reporters, the extraction industry - all sides were treated with a degree of nuance. The take-away message was really important too - that you can accomplish things with people you don't agree with or even like. And we really enjoyed the efforts made to set the film properly in its late 80s period.

I disagree with the other reviews that found the special effects lacking. I don't think they detracted from the story, which in the end was quite compelling.

This is a slow movie. Prepare to watch people standing around a hole in the ice. If you think gray whales are a waste of time, you won't be moved. On the other hand, if you can pull for a family of marine mammals in danger of freezing to death, you will probably find satisfaction in this movie's numerous charms. You'll enjoy the dignity given to the Inuit people, environmentalists, oil executives, Soviets, journalists, and even Republicans(!) who collaborate in dramatic efforts to save the trapped whales. You'll appreciate the care taken with a late 80's period piece, down to the silk blouses, big glasses, hair, and Peter Jennings. You may even be moved by the warm and unguarded performances of Drew Berrymore, John Kasinksi, and others.

It's possible you may have your heart enlarged by the uncommon efforts of truly diverse people on behalf of beautiful and vulnerable earthlings like the grays. There is an unabashed love for both the whales and the humans portrayed in this movie, whose lives and futures are at stake in a variety of ways. Some may regard this affection as sentimentality, but the sense of humor sustained throughout the film argues against this. Somehow I think the worst-ever portrayal of Ronald Reagan was hardly unintentional. This director definitely has it in for for Minnesotans, too.

My ten and thirteen year-old sons were engrossed by this true story brought to the screen and gave it two thumbs up. My wife and I enjoyed being unembarrassed in their presence throughout.

Simply as an introduction to Barrow, Alaska, the movie is totally worthwhile.

My biggest complaint: Drew Barrymore's lips should be blue when scuba diving in frigid Artic waters.