A 50 Million Year Old Song: the Wonder of Whale Nation
You’ve seen whales on screen before - but never like this. A spellbinding new film brings their world vividly to life. But don’t just take our word for it…
good.film
a year ago
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What is the movie Whale Nation about?
Whale Nation explores social causes like Animal Welfare and Earth & Environment.
We whales have been called a lot of things. The “guardians of the planet”. The “denizens of the ocean”. And weirdly, “Free Willy”. We still don’t get that one, but it’s nice to know we’ve caught your attention over the years.
If we’re honest, we’ve got bigger fish to fry than entertaining a species that’s barely been around for 2 million years. We’ve been cruising around for 50 million of ‘em. We suppose that’s why we’re so peaceful. When you get to know a place for that long - what’s the rush?
We’ve heard from a few of your scientist types (they hang around us like barnacles) that our backyard - what you guys call “oceans” - cover more than two-thirds of the Earth's surface. Which means the biggest territory on the globe is inhabited by us, not humans. So when you think about it - YOU’RE the ones living on OUR planet. How do you like them planktons?!
Just krilling you guys. We actually love a good whale-human collab, like the couple of years we spent with Jean-Albert Lièvre. He’s our new favourite underwater documentarian (next to the big JC, of course - that’s James Cameron. Big fan). And the result, Whale Nation? It’s kind of wondrous. He’s actually managed to capture our lives and our mysteries better than anyone we’ve ever worked with. Sorry, Jacques Cousteau - you walked so others could run.
We know World Whale Day is coming up for you guys (it’s every day for us) so if you love us big blubbery bois, please go see Whale Nation on the big screen! If you buy your tickets here, 50% of the profits go to AMCS and ORRCA, two of Australia’s leading whale and marine charities, to fund conservation programs for yours truly and all my mates. Whale deserved, if we do say so ourselves.
Okay, enough of the orca-ward plugs - we’re baleen outta here! Nice chatting with you guys (even though you’re hopeless at whalesong). We’ll leave you with the good.film team to describe some of the incredible stuff you can expect to see and learn about our lives when you go and see Whale Nation : )
What does Whale Nation teach us about whales?
Okay, there’s one thing we can promise: you’ll come away from Whale Nation feeling that the graceful, intelligent species known as cetaceans are even more precious and magical than you ever realised (and not just because they apparently co-wrote this article).
Along with the seriously extraordinary closeness of the underwater footage (which we talk about more below), Whale Nation is stuffed to the gills (sorry) with an amazing array of facts and stats about the largest creatures to roam the planet. Some we’ve heard before, like the fact that a Blue whale is the length of 3 buses. But it’s the way that new knowledge is framed - and how those facts make us feel - that renders Whale Nation as something special.
Take whalesong. We’re all familiar enough with the whooping, somewhat haunting songs of whales to do our own version (or at least have a go at Dory’s impression from Finding Nemo). But the film helps us reassess whalesong as both a critical tool and a mystery for the ages.
Whale Nation describes them as a literal “social network” that transmits the whales’ knowledge from generation to generation. Each of their songs rocket through the ocean five times faster than the speed of sound through air, last half an hour or more, and are packed with as much info as Homer’s Odyssey. It’s a startling reframe: they’re not just songs, but a long-distance method to share a familial legacy across millennia. Even more mystical? Our modern science still hasn’t found a way to decipher them.
Then there’s these creatures’ incredible strength and stamina. With arteries big enough for a human to crawl through (and a heart that weighs more than a car) there’s no debate around the Blue whale’s claim to being the biggest kid on the block. But it’s some of the other species’ feats - and comparing them to human technology - that might truly make you feel small. We follow a Sperm whale who dives up to 3000m to hunt for giant squid (to do it, they contract their ribcages and deflate their lungs, going up to an hour without breathing, withstanding a quarter of a million tons of water pressure while they’re at it). Gobsmackingly, even the most specialised military submarines we’ve developed only go 1300 metres deep.
How is Whale Nation different to other nature documentaries?
As you might have already picked up, there’s a lyrical quality to Whale Nation that truly sets it apart: a poetic beauty in both words and visuals. Whales don’t just have ancient wisdom, they’re the “Guardians of the earth’s archives”. They don’t simply splash about in summer; it’s their “season of breaching and dovetailing, for idle courtship and long melodious lovesongs.” And they don’t just swim fast; they “glide at 50 miles per hour with a velvet energy”.
That’s all courtesy of the passionate narration, from Oscar-nominated actor Richard E. Grant. He’s using the collective “we” form to describe the whale’s lives - in other words, he’s literally speaking to us AS A WHALE. And we loved the intimate effect it gave the film. We’re truly invited in, to cruise alongside them in their day-to-day lives. Of course, a huge part of that is also thanks to the innovative cinematography…
In 18 different filming locations across every corner of the world’s oceans, director Jean-Albert Lièvre and his team used everything from long camera arms and scuba videography under the surface, to drones and powerful zoom lenses from boats and shorelines to capture the really remarkably up-close-and-personal footage we’re treated to. Then, Lièvre gives some scenes a beautifully evocative feel by upending our expectations, and showing us these graceful animals in a new way - quite literally, from a different perspective.
What does Whale Nation have to say about human impacts?
The tone takes a decided shift when Whale Nation turns its focus to the three-pronged devastation that human impacts have wrought upon cetaceans over the past few centuries. The first was driven by pure commerce: according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, more than three million whales were killed in the 20th century for their oil and meat. But that’s (mostly) far in the past, so things are okay now - right?
Sadly, not exactly. While we may not be harpooning in such drastic numbers (commercial whaling today is almost totally banned), we humans continue to disrupt these magnificent animals’ lives. As Alexia Wellbelove from the AMCS says, “Whales face enormous pressures on a day to day basis, as they are caught in fishing operations, tangled in or consume plastic debris, and hit by ships. We need to ensure their continued protection in order [for whales] to perform their vital role in healthy marine ecosystems.” That’s backed up by the film’s voice of the whales, who tells us with the tone of a courtroom judge:
“Before your endless wars, we travelled free and unmolested. Now the great ships have invaded. The very music of the ocean has changed, disrupting our navigation and communication systems.”
It paves the way for perhaps the biggest of human-led impacts: pollution & climate change. Its effects are multi-faceted, and Lièvre demonstrates them in a number of ways. It’s very sad to hear the whales describe how recently, in their oceans, “strange new creatures have appeared - inedible ones” as we see a Sperm whale try to chew a cracked plastic bucket.
Being under the ocean’s surface is meditative, without doubt. But in these scenes, the filmmakers ask us to meditate on the changes we’ve inflicted on our delicate planet thus far. We’re only one species out of millions, yet we dominate. Where did we claim that right? And if we continue being reckless, could it be taken away?
The answer is Yes, and more easily than we realise: the oceans are filled with miniscule creatures named phytoplankton, living specks that produce as much oxygen as all the forests on earth. As Whale Nation reminds us, whales are like the “farmers of the seas”, tending and harvesting these invisible yet precious resources. Without them, the Earth’s climate would literally spiral out of balance - and we’d be lost.
What are critics saying about Whale Nation?
“Using spectacular underwater footage, these giants of the oceans can be admired up close. Breathtaking”
- Sandro Gotz, OutNow
“Fascinating. A stunningly beautiful documentary that you should see on a big screen.”
- Arjan Welles, FilmTotaal
“A film that enchants the senses… Director Jean-Albert Lièvre connects reality and illusion, drawing you even more deeply into the world of these special mammals.”
- Frank Heinen, CineMagazine
Fully on board, or disagree big time? We’d love to hear your take. Leave a review to share your thoughts with the good.film community!
So what’s the takeaway from Whale Nation?
Like we said, Whale Nation isn’t your usual nature documentary. There’s something profound about the deep and obvious gratitude the filmmakers have for these unearthly mammals, and we at good.film are so proud to support bringing the film to wider audiences here in Australia.
By adopting a unique point of view - that of the whales themselves - Whale Nation creates an intimacy that we reckon cuts through the reams of NatGeo facts we’ve heard about whales over the years. Through poetic voiceover (inspired by the book-length poem by Heathcote Williams), the whales are the ones who tell their own personal story of passion, procreation and pain. Riding in the wake of the whales gives us a sensory experience that’s unforgettable.
But perhaps the greatest takeaway from these 85 deeply immersive minutes in the cetacean world is the feeling of being humbled by a species that, in their own way, have gathered far deeper knowledge, for far longer, than our own. Can we learn from their strongly tethered connection to their environment, if we choose to pay attention? As the whales of Whale Nation implore us directly: “Dear Humans - YOU are new here! Please, Listen to our song.”
