Encounters With Whales

Naturalist Tina Dalton is the host for this beautifully filmed close-up look at the magnificent humpbacked whale. Having secured a seat aboard a research vessel preparing to sail off the coast of Australia the following day, Dalton spends the night before the journey helping others who are trying to save a beached whale. Bleary-eyed and worried, she reluctantly leaves the site next morning in order to make the boat on time. Encounters With Whales weaves the two stories of the beached whale and Dalton and company's research work on the high seas together--a little awkwardly, to be honest-- but Ross Isaac's superb cinematography of the humpback whales makes up for any narrative defects the program has. While Dalton's voice-over narration informs viewers about the migratory route of the humpbacks from Australia to Antarctica as well as their eating, mating, and playing habits, the camera records these glorious creatures in a wide variety of activities, including a wonderful shot in which an underwater whale glides close enough to touch Dalton's hand with his fin. Thanks to enlightened attitudes toward whales in our time, we are able to see these leviathans of the deep in their natural state rather than as chunks on a whaling ship. A lovely portrait. Recommended. (See THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: GOIN' BACK TO T-TOWN for availability.)