Fishing & Living: 'In the Whale' | Green Film Festival of San Francisco 2024
To survive contact with the sea, and to live on after.
Dear Moviegoers,
Few movies will ever match the kindly humanity of the 90s documentary American Movie, which might be my favorite of the form. Its subject, a small-time but absolutely dedicated independent filmmaker, pushes through to complete his latest project all the while being a humble person who loves his friends and family, even when doing so is difficult. In the Whale similarly accomplishes this feat, if more closely examined. No matter how though, the film is a frontrunner for best of the year, period.
Fisherman and lobster diver Michael Packard survived nearly being eaten by a humpback whale in the waters off of the Cape Cod region. A captivating incident, as it reminds us all of the fragility of life, the majesty and danger of awe-inspiring sea animals, and the spontaneity of pure luck. Michael experiences some momentary national celebrity but is most appreciated in his home community by fellow fishermen and residents, not just for his one-note story, but for who he is all year around.
Films like In the Whale come along rarely, but when they screen, smiles are mustered and tears are dropped. Astonishing with emotional impact, the movie merely uses Michael’s brush with an extraordinary death to just tell us who he is. And he’s a lovely, caring, and massively grateful man. Whenever the filmmakers attempt to pull his crazy tale up beyond the surface and into an all-too-grand atmosphere, humility and genuinely heartfelt feelings come through from Michael and those around him. No matter how hard the movie may try, its subject can’t help but be ever-so down the Earth. Michael is not playing director here, but perhaps indirectly he is guiding the production to a more graceful finish.
There’s also a deeply resonant spiritualness to In the Whale that is hard to deny. Michael reveals how he’s not particularly religious, but almost wants to be. The man is so full of love and light, that maybe such a connection to a perceived greater power would work as a filter to his most personal feelings of seasonal depression and potential monotony that comes with growing older. The Middle-Aged Man & the Sea, maybe? He never ponders in deep thought but he does think about his nature of regret and thankfulness. The film itself is quite subtle in visually capturing this, mainly just by focusing on Michael’s lightly-bearded face and doughy eyes, but occasionally does capture moments like his boat sailing into the sun.
There’s little subtlety with that shot but after a movie of poignant storytelling, specifically one with a single angle and many possibilities for redundancy, such profound cinematography can be excused, and even reveled in.
In the Whale is up for no cinematic rivalries, but I do think that it competes in my heart with films like American Movie. Heck, this might be the most ideal American movie to release this year. Ideal. I like that. 5/5
In the Whale is playing theatrically and virtually at the 2024 Green Film Festival of San Francisco.