Three Cheers for the Whale (1972)

THREE CHEERS FOR THE WHALE chronicles the history of mankind's relationship with the largest and most majestic of marine mammals, and graphically exposes their slaughter by the fishing ... See full summary »

Directors:

Chris Marker, Mario Ruspoli

Writer:

Chris Marker (commentary)

Stars:

Casamayor, Valérie Mayoux, Lalan

Cast

Credited cast:
Casamayor	...	Voix magistrale (voice)
Valérie Mayoux	...	Voix intérieure (voice)
Lalan	...	Voix musicale (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emily Hoffman	...	Interior Voice (voice)
Leonard Lopate	...	Voice (voice)

Storyline

THREE CHEERS FOR THE WHALE chronicles the history of mankind's relationship with the largest and most majestic of marine mammals, and graphically exposes their slaughter by the fishing industry. Chris Marker's co-director, Mario Ruspoli, descendant of an aristocratic Italian family, had been a journalist, painter and ethnologist before discovering his vocation as a documentary filmmaker. In the Sixties he became one of the founders -along with Jean Rouch, Edgar Morin and Chris Marker- of the "direct cinema" movement, pioneering in the use of new lightweight cameras and synchronous sound recording equipment.

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Plot Keywords:

whaling | industry | nature | ecology | ship | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Short

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Quotes

English narrator: The Japanese are good at chopping things up. When they have nothing else within short range, they chop themselves up.

User Reviews

Save The Whales.

Three Cheers For The Whale is both a love letter and apology to the family of the largest and most majestic animal on this planet we all share.

Marker uses the art of cinema to dissect and explore the role of the whale in human culture, throughout history- from symbol to food source to commodity.

His gaze condemning those who have subject these beautiful beasts to the most unimaginable of atrocities, for the most unnecessary reasons.

And to think, this, despite how endebted we should have been, after all they taught us, and helped us achieve.

By revealing the horrors of this obscene practice, Marker is attempting to elicit our empathy as a means to call for a much needed, and well overdue, moratorium.

Explaining, for example, to the Japanese that obsolete cultural traditions are not valid arguments to justify the continuation of this cruel practice.

For they also have harakiri.

He reminds us that our whale brothers and sisters play a vital role in the health of our planet.

The balance of nature.

May their songs echo through the oceans forever.

8 out of 10.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Also Known As:

Three Cheers for the Whale

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

17 min