MOVIE REVIEW : Natural Beauty and a Message in ‘Whales’

“When the Whales Came” (at the AMC Century 14 and Beverly Center Cineplex) takes us to Britain’s idyllic Isles of Scilly, where life seems unchanged through the centuries. The year, however, is 1914, and not even the beautiful island of Bryher remains untouched by the advent of the Great War. It is a time when parents start wondering, apparently for the first time, whether there really is a future for their children in a locale so remote from the modern world.

For writer Michael Morpurgo, who adapted his story “Why the Whales Came” for the screen, this time and place were nevertheless ideal for a consideration of the importance of living in harmony with nature. One of the citizens of Bryher is a man (Paul Scofield) who has lived there for 60 years, having come there as a child. He believes that nature took its revenge upon the citizens of his native island of Samson, rendering it uninhabitable, after they preyed upon a school of whales that ran aground there.

Morpurgo and director Clive Rees have created a veritable paradise with their setting of splendid natural beauty and their hearty, healthy and loving people. Their point is that the people of Bryher need to become more aware of the good fortune they’ve seemingly always enjoyed and to respect their environment. The movie is not nearly as obvious as this sounds, and it is through two adorable children (Max Rennie, Helen Pearce) befriending the hermetic Scofield that it puts its message across.

“When the Whales Came” (rated PG, though G would seem more appropriate) is such a lovely picture, glorious-looking and fitted out with an appropriately stirring score, that one is almost afraid to give it that seemingly kiss-of-death designation, the ideal family film.

In that light, it is good to point out that no less than Helen Mirren plays Pearce’s resilient mother and that this film marks one of the rare screen appearances of Scofield, one of Britain’s most distinguished actors and an Oscar winner for his portrayal of Sir Thomas More in “A Man for All Seasons.” It is left to him to give the film’s climactic speech, and he is wonderfully persuasive. The man he plays may be reclusive, but there’s nothing of the stereotypical Old Codger in his performance of a man with strong mystical beliefs.

‘WHEN THE WHALES CAME’

A 20th Century Fox presentation of a Golden Swan production produced in association with Independent Television PLC. Executive producer Geoffrey Wansell. Producer Simon Channing-Williams. Director Clive Rees. Screenplay Michael Morpurgo; from his story “Why the Whales Came.” Camera Robert Paynter. Music Christopher Gunning. Production designer Bruce Grimes. Costumes Lindy Hemming. Associate producer Alexander Myers. Second-unit camera John Marzano. Film editor Andrew Boulton. With Paul Scofield, Helen Mirren, Helen Pearce, Max Rennie, David Suchet, David Threlfall, Barbara Jefford, Jeremy Kemp.

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

MPAA-rated: PG (parental guidance suggested).